Sam In Sylvia

I watched this movie at a kind of odd time - I was just about to go off to this heavy metal night a friend was playing at - and was perhaps not in the best state to be watching such a serious movie. And yet I enjoyed it then and I enjoyed it more rewatching segments later, when I was taking stills. I had no idea what to expect - I know next to nothing about the people involved, except that we have a book of Ted Hughes' poetry at home because he wrote about where I used to live - and yet I have to admit that I am very glad I watched this movie.

Why? Because this is a very beautiful movie. It tells the story (the real life story) of poetess Sylvia Plath and her stormy relationship with fellow poet and lover Ted Hughes.

Although no-one can be sure of what really went on between them as they are now both dead, it was assumed by many that their tumultuous relationship - along with Ted's affair (which may have been one or many) - led to Sylvia eventually committing suicide... after writing some of the most beautiful poetry of her entire career.

Well, as my mum pointed out, you can't tell the story of those two without involving the grand and over-powering creature that is the Yorkshire countryside... and yet it features surprisingly little in this movie.

That's not to say that when it is there it doesn't shine (perhaps shine is the wrong word...) but it did grate on my nerves a little how much is set in America (in Sylvia's mum's rather well decorated house) and on the beach. The beach is beautiful, but it is the isolation of the countryside - and later the isolation of the flats - that shows what this movie is about.

But I'm wandering off on a waffle about scenery when I haven't even started on the actors. Sylvia is played by Gwyneth Paltrow (despite her fame I know surprisingly little about her except that she played this role very well) and Ted is played by the always excellent Daniel Craig. Still not sure about him as Bond but I can't deny that he is an incredible actor. He perhaps plays his character a little too neutral at times though this tends to happen in 'based on a true story'-style tales. And as most people who know anything about the lives of either of these poets will know, no-one can be quite sure what truly happened in the Plath-Hughes relationship, except that it lead to some inspiring poetry and an early death for Sylvia.

As for Sam in this movie? Well, he gets marginally more screen-time than in Vera Drake but in essence he is a very minor character who doesn't make it past the first twenty minutes of the film. He plays a poet friend of Sylvia's called Tom who introduces her to Ted (and perhaps I could say he acts as the tool of her destruction because of this!) and he gets to read a poem really, really fast and dance worse than I do. Oh and there is quite a nice (pitifully short) scene in Sylvia's garden where he and Ted (Craig) are lobbing stones at her window. The boyish giggling and falling over is quite sweet...

On the other hand, unless you like deep, tragic movies then I probably wouldn't buy it just for him alone.

Just like Vera Drake, this movie has its good scenes and its rather dull and tedious scenes (and themes). The main one which put me off was the extended fights between Sylvia and Ted over whether or not Ted had been sleeping with other women. This back and forth bickering (and a slight amount of obvious paranoid jealousy on Sylvia's part) meant that when he finally did cheat on her it was neither shocking nor surprising - it was merely a relief. It also portrayed Sylvia in rather a bad light, and Ted in rather a good one (overall), and although this may have been true to life it may also very well have not been true and probably irked Sylvia fans. It's one of those cases where I really wish I could have met her and judged for myself.

Moving back to other great actors who manage a bit-part in this movie I'll mention Michael Gambon (or Dumbledore mark 2.0 for the HP fans) who plays the bloke downstairs when Sylvia moves herself and her children into a flat away from Ted. He is marvellous despite his minimal screen-time and doubly so because of the slight twist they place on him. Whilst it's obvious that he is supposed to be the sympathetic ear for Sylvia - and perhaps someone who will ground her in reality in desperate times - when it comes down to the crunch it's also obvious that she scares him, as she would scare anyone acting the way that she acts. And the last scene he has with Sylvia, where he gently shuts the door on her, is perfectly done and symbolises perhaps her final step away from reality and into suicide. Not in a dramatic way, but in a quiet, beautiful way.

Be warned: you may find yourself coming out after watching this movie in something like the same state of mind you imagine Sylvia to be in just before her death. It's a movie that definitely invokes sympathy, especially towards the end. I noticed that on the DVD box it shows lots of stills of Ted and Sylvia on the beach or chatting at parties and so on and looking happy. To me, these are not the scenes that capture the movie (hopefully a few of the ones I've posted here are... aside from the gratuitous Sam pics...).

Oh and I did fail to mention the lovely scene near the beginning of the movie when the poet students (including Sylvia, Ted and Tom) are gathered in this dingy looking room drinking and reciting poetry as fast as they can. I love it, I wish there had been more scenes like that. The room is dark and messy and yet still cosy and safe, a stark contrast to how Sylvia's life becomes. The scene also captures the joy that these people find in poetry - and that is in part what the movie is about.


So finally I had better give it a summing up. Certainly it is, in filmic terms, one of the best I have reviewed on this blog so far. I still enjoy Spirit Trap more (and obviously it is the better for Sam screen-time) but Sylvia, as a whole, is a lovely, well-crafted little movie especially for poetry fans. It is not perfect (what movie is?) but it is a worthwhile watch:


As a Film/TV Episode: 4 out of 5
As a Sam feature: 1.5 out of 5 (yes he's in 4 whole scenes but his screen-time and lines are bare minimum)
WARNINGS: There are scenes of a sexual nature, some swearing and a suicide, though no extreme graphic violence. This is a generally gentle movie if you skip over the adultery... which would be a little silly.

And I will end this post with some of the pictures I didn't manage to jam into my review. Curses.