View source for Possession (2002 film)

{{Short description|2002 film by Neil LaBute}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Possession
| image          = Possessionfilm.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Neil LaBute]]
| producer       = [[Barry Levinson]]<br>[[Paula Weinstein]]
| writer         = [[David Henry Hwang]]<br>[[Laura Jones (screenwriter)|Laura Jones]]<br>Neil LaBute
| based_on       = ''[[Possession (Byatt novel)|Possession: A Romance]]'' by [[A. S. Byatt]]
| starring       = [[Aaron Eckhart]]<br>[[Gwyneth Paltrow]]<br>[[Jeremy Northam]]<br>[[Jennifer Ehle]]<br>[[Lena Headey]]<br>[[Toby Stephens]]
| music          = [[Gabriel Yared]]
| cinematography = [[Jean-Yves Escoffier]]
| editing        = [[Claire Simpson]]
| studio         = [[Baltimore Pictures]]<br />[[Paula Weinstein|Spring Creek Pictures]]
| distributor    = [[Focus Features]] (United States and Canada)<br />[[Warner Bros. Pictures]] (International)
| released       = {{film date|2002|8|16}}
| runtime        = 102 minutes
| country        = {{plainlist|
* United States
* United Kingdom
}}
| language       = English<br>French
| budget         = $25 million
| gross          = $14.8 million<ref name="box">[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=possession.htm ''Possession''], Box Office Mojo</ref>
}}

'''''Possession''''' is a 2002 [[romance film|romantic]] [[mystery film|mystery]] [[Drama (film and television)|drama film]] written and directed by [[Neil LaBute]] and starring [[Gwyneth Paltrow]] and [[Aaron Eckhart]]. It is based on the 1990 [[Possession: A Romance|novel of the same name]] by British author [[A. S. Byatt]], who won the [[Booker Prize]] for it the year it was published.

==Synopsis==
Literary scholars American Roland Michell of the [[British Museum]] and British Maud Bailey independently find that the socially antagonistic relationship between the [[Victorian era]] poets Randolph Henry Ash and Christabel LaMotte may have concealed a secret connection as lovers. Ash is traditional and conservative and LaMotte is a [[freethinking]] [[bisexual]]. Rival scholars become aware of their efforts and each seeks to be the first at the public disclosure of this major finding about the poets. In a parallel relationship, Michell and Bailey have their own deepening connection.

==Cast==
<!--In order of film credits-->
{{Castlist|
* [[Gwyneth Paltrow]] as Maud Bailey
* [[Aaron Eckhart]] as Roland Michell
* [[Jeremy Northam]] as Randolph Henry Ash
* [[Jennifer Ehle]] as Christabel LaMotte
* [[Lena Headey]] as Blanche Glover
* [[Toby Stephens]] as Fergus Wolfe
* [[Tom Hollander]] as Euan
* [[Trevor Eve]] as Cropper
* [[Tom Hickey (actor)|Tom Hickey]] as Blackadder
* [[Graham Crowden]] as Sir George
* [[Anna Massey]] as Lady Bailey
* [[Holly Aird]] as Ellen Ash
}}

==Development==
Three early drafts of the film's screenplay were written by American playwright [[David Henry Hwang]] in the 1990s, but the project languished in pre-production for years. Directors such as [[Sydney Pollack]] and [[Gillian Armstrong]] worked on the film and eventually gave up before LaBute became director.<ref name= "bookish">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/18/movies/film-can-bookish-be-sexy-yeah-says-neil-labute.html|title=FILM; Can Bookish Be Sexy? Yeah, Says Neil LaBute|work=[[The New York Times]]|first=Daniel|last=Zalewski|date=August 18, 2002|accessdate=February 15, 2024}}</ref> LaBute made drastic changes to the story, based partially on notes that original author Byatt had made on earlier drafts of the screenplay, as she recognized that Roland Michell had to "exist on screen" in a different way than he did in the book.<ref name= "bookish"/>

LaBute recalled:

{{Blockquote|"What she basically said was, 'This is Roland on the page; you must make him different in a film!' She got that Roland needed more drive. Just seeing those notes kind of gave me the keys to the kingdom. And so in the film, Roland keeps making these wild, imaginative leaps about the poets' lives, and Maud's both charmed and appalled."<ref name= "bookish"/>}}
 
LaBute changed Roland's nationality from British to American, and made him more brash and active. He denied that this was "shameless [[pandering (politics)|pandering]] to the audience. ... in part, it was [just] more comfortable for me to write Roland that way."<ref name= "bookish"/>

==Casting==
[[Ralph Fiennes]] was approached for the role as Randolph Ash that eventually went to [[Jeremy Northam]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Angulo|first=Sandra P.|date=May 11, 2000 |title=News Summary: Berry Sorry |url=https://ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C85192%2C00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070526084946/https://ew.com/ew/article/0,,85192,00.html |archive-date=May 26, 2007 |access-date=February 15, 2024 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]}}</ref>

==Reception==
The [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]] reported an approval rating of 64%, with an average rating of 6.30/10, based on 155 reviews. The site's critics consensus reads: "It's perhaps a bit tame and uninspiring, considering its subject matter, but ''Possession'' manages enough romance and period intrigue to satisfy most fans of its source material."<ref>{{Cite Rotten Tomatoes|id=possession|type=movie|title=Possession|access-date=March 6, 2025}}{{cbignore}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a weighted average score of 52 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".<ref>{{Cite Metacritic|id=possession-2002|type=movie|title=Possession|access-date=September 15, 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] awarded the film three stars and a half out of four.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/possession-2002|title=Possession|work=[[RogerEbert.com]]|first=Roger|last=Ebert|author-link=Roger Ebert|date=August 16, 2002|accessdate=February 15, 2024}}</ref>

Daniel Zalewski of ''[[The New York Times]]'' noted that director LaBute, "known for savagely blunt stage and screen dramas ... has here infused a British novelist's main characters with the same stutter-and-slang rhythms, male-bonding repartée and sarcastic volleys that define his own distinctly American work." He said: "In the end, Mr. LaBute's grafting of his own sensibility onto Roland creates a weird tonal clash."<ref name= "bookish"/>

Jamie Russell of the [[BBC]] wrote, "Lacking the intelligence of an arthouse picture, or the classy sheen of a British production, ''Possession'' isn't possessed of anything other than over-wrought emotionalism and unintentional silliness."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2002/10/08/possession_2002_review.shtml|title=Possession (2002)|work=[[BBC]]|first=Jamie|last=Russell|date=October 20, 2002|accessdate=February 15, 2024}}</ref>

The film grossed $14,815,898 worldwide.<ref name="box"/>

==Releases==
The film has been released on [[DVD]] with subtitles and captions.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|http://www.possession-movie.com/}}
* {{IMDb title|0256276|Possession}}
* {{mojo title|possession|Possession}}
* {{Metacritic film|title=Possession}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|possession|Possession}}

{{David Henry Hwang}}
{{Neil LaBute}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Possession (2002 Film)}}
[[Category:2002 films]]
[[Category:2002 drama films]]
[[Category:American LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:2000s English-language films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Neil LaBute]]
[[Category:Films based on British novels]]
[[Category:Film set at the British Museum]]
[[Category:Lesbian-related films]]
[[Category:Films about female bisexuality]]
[[Category:Films shot in Scarborough]]
[[Category:Films set in Yorkshire]]
[[Category:Focus Features films]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. films]]
[[Category:Universal Pictures films]]
[[Category:British nonlinear narrative films]]
[[Category:American nonlinear narrative films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Gabriel Yared]]
[[Category:2000s American films]]
[[Category:2000s British films]]
[[Category:2002 LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:English-language documentary films]]