Sylvia DVD

Director Christine Jeffs takes the heartbreaking story of writer Sylvia Plath's life and suicide (which has taken on mythological significance in certain literary circles) and renders it in a palette of surprising beauty. The film paints the story in dark greens, reds and the arresting blues of a recurring water motif. Dealing less with the professional lives of Plath and her husband Edward "Ted" Hughes, and delving more deeply into their notoriously tempestuous marriage, SYLVIA takes risks by attempting to portray what both Plath's family and Hughes (until just before his death in 1998) have remained extremely quiet about. John Brownlow's screenplay fingers no villain, painting both Hughes and Plath as flawed and complex. Beginning in England in 1956, the film depicts American poet Sylvia (Gwyneth Paltrow)--who has a history of depression and suicide attempts--attending Cambridge University on a Fulbright Scholarship. While at a party, she meets Ted (Daniel Craig), a dashing student and fellow poet. The chemistry between them is electric, and they become immediately inseparable, their mutual love of verse the glue that holds them together. But Sylvia's success in her art gives way to jealous madness as other women lavish their attentions on Ted. Her subsequent descent into the deepest of depressions leads to her suicide in 1962. In this stirring film, Paltrow hits a high note in her career with her portrayal of Sylvia.

Theatrical Release: October 17, 2003 (NY/LA)

Sylvia Reviews:

"...Always spot-on as far as the atmospherics go, and the acting is ever forceful and brave..." -- Glenn Kenny, Premiere

"SYLVIA provides illustrations for the biographies we carry in our minds. We see the milieu, the striving, the poverty, the passion, and we hear the poetry..."-- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

"...This is the richest role Paltrow has had since SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, and she rises to the challenge..."-- Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

"...Emotionally rich....Played with radiant conviction by Gwyneth Paltrow..." -- A. O. Scott, New York Times

"...The film is well-acted. Paltrow believably conveys Plath's emotional vulnerability..." -- Claudia Puig, USA Today

"...Played beautifully by Gwyneth Paltrow..."-- Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

"...Paltrow is always involving....A serious, respectful work that is well-crafted..." -- Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

"...Artfully crafted..." -- Todd McCarthy, Variety

"...[Paltrow gives] a brave, unsentimental, searing performance..." -- Stephen Farber, Movieline's Hollywood Life

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