What line is thinner than the one between confession and narcissism? Upon that line, exactly, does "Elegy" dwell, before tumbling off on the bad side.

Derived from Philip Roth's "The Dying Animal," "Elegy" is the story of an older (late 60s) celeb professor, David Kepesh (Ben Kingsley), and his love affair with a much younger woman, Consuela Castillo (Penelope Cruz).

David has it made, New York-lit style. The author of a classic art history text, he lectures at Columbia, lives in an exquisite brownstone and has a minor celebrityhood as a reviewer for the New Yorker. He prides himself on never having affairs with his current students; he waits until the next semester to make his move.

But Consuela is different. Why? Well, because she's played by one of the world's most beautiful women, that's why. The movie then proceeds to document their career, but it does so entirely from his point of view. It doesn't care about her and, indeed, never really bothers to account for her life and her reasons for falling into a relationship with someone clearly 30 years her senior. It refuses to see her behavior as neurotic and, by that means, accepts his conceit that the relationship is morally appropriate. In fact, it never examines it from any ethical point of view at all, it wholly lacks rigor and the drama of the piece (the issue of commitment) turns on him, not her.

When a friend croaks, the scene is really about David's strength; when a loved one becomes ill, his behavior is again exemplary, and we're to admire him more than mourn the ill character. Sadly, "Elegy " reminds me of the title of another great American writer's book: "Advertisements for Myself."

-- Stephen Hunter (Aug. 22, 2008)

Contains sexual themes.