Sylvia (2003)

Memorable, crazy movie

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

i like Gwyneth Paltrow she is a good actress i checked this film out because of her but sadly it failed to keep me hooked.this was based on a real life story of poet Sylvia Plath now i don't want to go in details about how accurate this film was but i will talk about what was good and bad about this film adaptation of a real life person.i will not reveal the plot here but i will say it is a depressing film and most of the characters are sad specially Sylvia portrayed by Gwyneth Paltrow she did her best here giving all the emotions with her acting methods she cries a lot here all the pain shes was going through you can feel it.the film and the story were both good but the biggest minus point was the acting of Daniel Craig this guy is the king of overacting i swear the whole film he was shouting and going berserk and ruined the film experience for me.i liked the way this film was shot the cinematography was amazing if only the script and cast were better this film could have been better it had potential.this film explores Sylvia's life it is a biographical but a lot of moments are over the top here it is more of a sad love story then a Biographical film then all the unnecessary sex scenes comes,the film runs good for half an hour then tries too hard to fall into a boring, sad erotic movie and fails to connect with the audience.i hated this film specially Daniel Craig this is the same guy who also murdered the James bond films he is not a good actor at all Gwyneth Paltrow is the only good thing about this film and she looks quite stunning and beautiful here even when smoking cigarettes.Overall Sylvia 2003 is a waste of time and money my rating is 3/10.Skipp It

Gweneth Paltrow was kinda amazing in this uneven and sympathetic bio of poet Sylvia Plath, and probably the sole reason I stuck with it.The movie itself is very dark, dry in places and just sad throughout. Spanning many years, for the most part this centres on Plath's turbulent marriage to future poet Ted Hughes (played by Daniel Craig). Their relationship is sensuous, volatile and intriguing to watch in its highs and lows.For some reason all the rooms in every house Plath lived in are painted a thick, glossy dark grey, which I found strange. Strange that I even noticed? Honestly a bit of a struggle to get though but worth it and on a plus Daniel Craig gets naked. 01/13

I watched this movie as suggested by a friend, knowing nothing about the poetess Sylvia Plath, except some biographical hints, which can be a fault (in the sense of a too much unconscious and unprepared approach) but also an advantage, since you are in a condition to judge the movie for what it is and without any prejudice. I perceived the movie as a delicate, intelligent, and artfully crafted portrait of a woman, whose inner psychological distress overwhelmed her and affected her artistic life so much as to become one thing with it.What I certainly appreciated is the modest and almost detached attitude the director chose to deal with the theme, the never excessive underlining of too torturing traits of the poetess' s grieve. What the viewer gets is the portrait of a delicate, too sensitive, but innerly tortured woman, without having to face too much, as a form of respect towards the woman and her painful life, as if (and indeed it is), depression and mental disorder were something belonging to such depth of a soul that trying to render it too explicitly becomes a misleading, fake, if not disrespectful attempt; the final result being intense but never obtrusive.A little underdeveloped, maybe, is the relationship with the mother, and in general we are not given he chance to know much about Sylvia's childhood, when her mental problems began to trouble her, but on the whole the movie is well focused and gets to render the complexity of her personality: strong and weak, self-confident and depressed, longing for life but falling into an always evoked death. A movie that gets also to stimulate the reading of her works, and that's, I believe, a great result. Gwyneth Paltrow is really convincing, intense, but always contained, David Craig as Ted Hughes also offers a mature and good performance.

The acting is not awful. Both Paltrow and Craig did quite a good job with their acting. The main problem of this film is that it did almost nothing to describe Plath's literary work or how her personal life affected her writing. The movie itself is basically a portrait of a failing marriage--the turbulent relationship between the couple and the husband's infidelity.One must understand that it is a challenge to make a biographical film on an artist (actor, writer, musician, or painter). This is because that not only is that artist being famous for his/her achievement in a special field, but also for his/her dramatic personal life. Here, the film focused heavily on Plath's unsuccessful marriage and a little on her poetry or her novel. Even the portrayal of the marriage is too one-sided. Obviously, Plath's loyal friends would have agreed with the film's depiction. Yet, Ted Hugh and his family might have some objections.I give this film 6/10. It is not a bad film. It is just not a film about a poet.