When Stanley Kubrick died, the title of greatest misanthrope of American cinema was passed on to Neil LaBute, author of comedies like In the Company of Men and Your Friends and Neighbours that dissected the dark side of the American middle class. One of his less typical films was the 2002 period melodrama Possession.
The film is based on the eponymous 1990 Booker Prize-winning novel by British author A. S. Byatt. The plot runs in parallel in two different time periods. Roland Michell (played by Aaron Eckhart), a young American scholar in contemporary London, finds a letter that might prove that the Victorian-era poet Randolph Henry Ash (played by Jeremy Northam), renowned both for his poetry and marital fidelity, was involved in an adulterous affair. Things get even more interesting when the most likely candidate for Ash's lover becomes Christabel LaMotte (played by Jennifer Ehle), a free-thinking poetess known for her feminist views that were radical for 19th Century standards, as well as a long-term lesbian relationship with the painter Blanche Glover (played by Lena Headey). Michell desperately wants to find proof for his thesis and seeks assistance from Maud Bailey (played by Gwyneth Paltrow), a historian who is a distant relative of LaMotte and considered to be the expert on all the details of the poetess' life. She is sceptical towards Michell's claims, but nevertheless agrees to help him, and the two of them, guided by century-old letters, poems and notes, begin a journey towards the same places visited by the 19th Century lovers. As their investigation advances, the two of them discover feelings that would make their relationship more than professional.
Possession can be interpreted as LaBute's attempt to show his versatility and get rid of the misanthropic reputation he has maintained with his previous film Nurse Betty. The adaptation of Byatt's novel was also an opportunity to use British locations and acting talent. The plot will remind many viewers of The French Lieutenant's Woman, another, much better known film that depicted a Victorian romance from a contemporary perspective. LaBute, aided by co-writers David Henry Hwang and Laura Jones, has compressed the 550-page long novel into an hour and a half of running time, reduced the number of characters and changed Roland Michell from a modest Briton from the working class into a good-looking American, which was often interpreted as an attempt to make Possession more accessible to an American audience (a claim later disputed by LaBute). The result of LaBute's efforts is not one but two conventional love stories which develop in a rather predictable manner. Viewers, on the other hand, won't be bored. The two plots are naturally blending with each other, the cast is very good (especially Paltrow who again displays a great ability to play a British character), while the picturesque British locations are well-matched with the likeable music by Gabriel Yared. Possession isn't a particularly memorable film, but it would satisfy viewers who yearned for an old-fashioned melodrama.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
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