Besessen (2002)

Besessen: Directed by Neil LaBute. With Gwyneth Paltrow, Aaron Eckhart, Jeremy Northam, Jennifer Ehle. A pair of literary sleuths unearth the amorous secret of two Victorian poets only to find themselves falling under a passionate spell.

“The ending made up for any flaws this movie had. It made me smile as a viewer. Overall itu0026#39;s a good movie. This is a fine cast. The chemistry between Northam and Ehle was magnificent to say the least. You wanted the movie to just remain with them. Eckhart and Paltrow are fine in their roles. Eckhart is effective in his role although I do understand some peopleu0026#39;s ire that his character was made into an American. If the intent was to convey that he was an outsider who goes against convention and dares to think of things differently, then I think he was still effective and convincing. Presenting him a foreigner would only reinforce this intention. Paltrow is not bad in her role but I think this is where there is an argument that an actual British actress would have been more effective (i.e. someone like Kate Beckinsale, Rachel Weisz, Catherine Keener, or Emily Mortimer who all have the distinction of having attended prestigious British universities like Oxford and Cambridge) in making the character more complex so we could truly understand the psychology of an ice cold British, female academic. Besides having a British accent which Paltrow seems to do well, the part required an understanding of the womanu0026#39;s psyche that Iu0026#39;m not sure I fully understood. Despite being an American from Texas, Renee Zellweger did this well in Bridget Jonesu0026#39; Diary, although her accent was a bit posh for the character. This is my only criticism of a movie that was still good overall.”