"Paltrow moves us as Plath, bringing poignant humanity to the character." Jack Garner ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE "The results are mixed, but noble." Wesley Morris BOSTON GLOBE "A very troubled and dark marriage elevated by Paltrow’s strong performance." Victoria Alexander FILMSINREVIEW.COM "An often painful, surprisingly illuminating and emotionally complex portrait of a woman who is ultimately as mysterious as her art." Terry Lawson, DETROIT FREE PRESS "Those unfamiliar with Sylvia may not be terribly compelled by this story. Though, the sparkling cinematography and picture perfect set/costume design bring a great deal of life to this non-life-loving script." Ross Anthony HOLLYWOOD REPORT CARD

"Offers a wondrously illuminating artistic experience for its ideal audience -- people like me who know a little but not much about the explosive Plath-Hughes fusion of unbridled poetic temperaments in a tauntingly prosaic world." Andrew Sarris NEW YORK OBSERVER "Gwyneth Paltrow, who has never made a secret of her obsession with Plath, turns in a worshipfully calculated and awards-worthy performance as her idol." Phil Villarreal ARIZONA DAILY STAR "What makes Sylvia worth viewing is its vivid sense of mood and atmosphere." David Sterritt CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR "Paltrow successfully transmits Plath's mental distress and her desperation to shake off a mounting depression." Bill Muller ARIZONA REPUBLIC "A first-rate showcase for Paltrow." Ken Fox TV GUIDE'S MOVIE GUIDE

At A Glance

"Atmospheric, elegant and thoughtful." Nev Pierce BBCI FILMS

It's a dark and tortured tale we see in "Sylvia", a film which explores the life of Sylvia Plath the poet. I for one was glad that I had no knowlege of her or her works because the greatest fear one has, when one has that knowlege is that the film will not meet ones expectations. After seeing "Sylvia" I did some research on her life and concluded that this film indeed portrays the anguish that led to her demise. It didn't touch much on her accomplishments because it appears on the facts that her greatest search in life was for love and a man who would replace her father who died when she was nine years of age. There is a great weight of evidence that Plath was haunted by the memory of her father. Perhaps she hoped that fellow poet Ted Hughes would provide both of those aspects throughout their marriage. Once again the evidence points to the fact that he did not. That leaves "Sylvia" with a sorry tale of a marriage gone wrong, a womanizing husband, a woman feeling rejected, inadequate, confused and finally suffering depression. Despite all the darkness in "Sylvia", it is never the less, intriguing to watch the events unfold and to see how they are handled, and indeed interpreted as her story unfolds on the screen.
The story of Sylvia Plath comes to the big screen thanks to Academy Award-nominated producer Alison Owen who explains, "I’ve always been interested in Sylvia Plath; like lots of girls, I’ve been a fan since I was a teenager. I had always thought that Sylvia and Ted were a great love story." The thought of creating the project on Plath's life had been on her mind for a number of years but it wasn't until 1988 that Owen actively started work on it. She mentioned it to John Brownlow who showed an instant interest. It appears that Plath had an influence on his life while he was studying at Oxford University. "It was Sylvia Plath’s poetry that had led me to my decision, when at Oxford University, to switch from a Mathematics degree to an English degree." It took months of meticulous research but in the end he said he "finally found the story that I had been looking for, which was to focus entirely on the relationship between Sylvia and Ted, more or less from the moment they met until the moment she died. It had to be romantic. This seemed to me to be the universal story, because here were two people who did what we all dream of – they met the person they were destined to be with. The problem was, they also had the capacity to destroy each other; you could even argue that that was what they found most attractive in each other. You don’t have to have heard of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes to find theirs a compelling story, or to want to know how it will turn out." Now all she needed was the right director. Owen and screened New Zealand director Christine Jeffs outstanding debut feature film Rain and knew instantly that Jeffs was exactly the person they needed to steer the ship. And once again the Plath connection was there as Jeffs too was a fan of the poet. "When I saw Rain, I could not speak afterwards, " Owen said. "It’s an extraordinary film. We got in touch and, as it happened, Christine already knew a lot about Sylvia Plath and was a fan of hers."
Jeffs remembers, "I was on my farm in New Zealand and got a call from my agent, who said ‘You’ve got to read this script.’ When I realized that it was a movie about Sylvia Plath, it was a dream come true. The next step was to meet with Gwyneth and the financiers. One day I was on my farm with my horses and the next day I was flying to New York. And her thoughts on Sylvia Plaths life? "I was interested not only in the love story," she says, "but also in the implications of two powerful creative forces being brought together and how that made their lives so difficult for each other." Adding, "Sylvia is very much a love story, and Sylvia’s story, as she tries to be both a creative person and a mother.
But fate had much more in-store for Owens because little did she know, that even though she always envisaged Gwyneth Paltrow in the role of Sylvia, it seems there was a link there too. "In 1993, I was acting in the film "Mrs Parker and the Vicious Circle", she said. "Several of the women that I was working with told me that I should play Sylvia Plath one day. On the last day of shooting, they gifted me with a copy of The Bell Jar. I read it, and thought, ‘She is fantastic.’ I started reading more about Sylvia and more of her writing. So when Alison Owen approached me with this project a couple of years later, I was very interested!"
Daniel Craig who plays Ted Hughes told this interesting story. "Since I was a child, I’ve had tapes of Ted Hughes reading his poetry," he said. "When I was at secondary school, we snuck in to see him when he spoke at the local grammar school." So how did he envisage, from all the research, who Ted Hughes really was? His answer is that "there are so many people who’ve met Ted and they all have a different story to tell. I read a lot and talked to as many people as I could. In the end, as an actor, you have to make up your character because you can only take on so much." Most who see "Sylvia" will agree there is much to take in but whether you see "Sylvia" as a Love story or a tale of love gone tragically wrong, dark as it is, it is very enlightening and quite entertaining. Casting About "Sylvia" was directed by and stars Gwyneth Paltrow ["Shout", "Shakespeare in Love", "Shallow Hal" and "The Royal Tenenbaums"], Daniel Craig ["The Power Of One", "I Dreamed Of Africa", "Road to Perdition", "Lara Croft Tomb Raider" and "Elizabeth"], Jared Harris ["The Rachel Papers", "Lost In Space", "Igby Goes Down" and "Mr Deeds"], Blythe Danner ["The Great Santini", "The Farmhouse", "Forces Of Nature" and "Meet The Parents"] and Michael Gambon ["Dead On Time", "Charlotte Gray", "Gosford Park" and "Open Range"] as Professor Thomas. The Story

"This is the richest role Paltrow has had since Shakespeare in Love, and she rises to the challenge." ......... Owen Gleiberman ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

The year is 1955 and Fulbright Scholarship holder Sylvia Plath is in England studying at University. At a function she meets the handsome poet Ted Hughes. The attraction is instant and highly physical. Within four months they are married and then transfer to Boston in the USA. Here Ted becomes the centre of attraction, especially with the ladies. Unrecognized for her work and already living in the philandering Ted's shadow they return to England in 1959. The birth of their two children does little to cement their relationship and the marriage falters again. Determined to make her mark, Sylvia throws herself into her writing. Will it be enough to spark her spirit? The Verdict "There's a feeling that many critics have been very unkind to "Sylvia". That may be because they were expecting some sweet, glossy, poetic, glorification of her talented but highly tragic short life. But look beneath the veneer of "Sylvia" and here is a study in marriage that reveals a longing to be loved and cared for, not only by a husband but a father figure. To this end Gwyneth Paltrow does a sterling job of conveying the heart felt sorrow, the disappointment and the lack of strength Plath experienced during her unhappy marriage to Ted Hughes. As for her work, the critical acclaim, the recognition and the Pulizter Prize came many years after her death and not during the period the film covers." The Cast

Gwyneth Paltrow Daniel Craig Jared Harris Blythe Danner Michael Gambon Amira Casar Andrew Havill Lucy Davenport Liddy Holloway David Birkin Alison Bruce Julian Firth Jeremy Fowlds Michael Mears Anthony Strachan Katherine Tozer Sam Troughton Hannah Watkins Siobhan Page Sarah Guyler Derek Payne Sonia Ritter

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Sylvia Plath Ted Hughes Al Alvarez Aurelia Plath Professor Thomas Assia Wevill David Wevill Doreen Martha Bergstrom Morecambe Elizabeth James Michie Mr Robinson Charles Langridge Michael Boddy Myra Norris Tom Hadley-Clarke Tom's Girlfriend Young American Student Ted's Cambridge Girlfriend Vicar Midwife

The Crew Directed Christine Jeffs Produced by Alison Owen Written by John Brownlow Original Music by Gabriel Yared Cinematography by John Toon Film Editing by Tariq Anwar Casting by Karen Lindsay-Stewart Production Design by Maria Djurkovic Set Decoration by Philippa Hart Costume Design by Sandy Powell Production Manager Su Hucks Run Time 110 minutes Rated M15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2004 - Focus Films - All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2004 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved