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Sylvia

Often, when movies like this come out, I find myself becoming glued to them. On a bigger note, movies that have a character's central involvement dealing with some sort of writing have me even more under a trance. Sylvia, which is based on Sylvia Plath's life as a poet, hits my heart hard. I truly respect this art form and admire the emotional, spiritual, and painful complications that can come from being a poet.

The mind does not discriminate, but it can knock out a person's ability to see life in its greatest and most amazing forms, those being the simple beauty of leaves blowing the wind, an ocean, the rain or anything, really, that nature has allowed us permission with which to come into contact. Even when that doesn't sit well, one would think or believe that the love of a man, children, a home, and the continued opportunity to refine one's craft would be a strong thing to hold onto dearly, but with all the good, the talent, and the love, if the mind is not healthy, all that should matter, doesn't. Just because a person appears to have it all, look deeper, look inside to where that person's mind is in constant battle with themself and that's where you will find the truth.

Sylvia should be viewed as a movie that brings as much beauty as it does pain. There cannot be a movie or a book that reaches the whole story or brings out the loss of what someone like Sylvia or those who were apart of her life had to suffer with, unless you, yourself, have come close to relating to such an illness. In some ways Sylvia had her demons become her muse. Her delusions, fears and struggles were, in many ways, a release from herself and those are what helped her get though many hard times. Sadly, just not enough to keep her in this world for a longer stay than she had.

After 30 years of keeping silent about the findings of Sylvia Plath's personal notes, her husband, Poet Ted Hughes, released those findings five years ago, and thus, you have the story of Sylvia. Sadly though, Hughes passed away from cancer in 1998.

Sylvia (Gwyneth Paltrow), who years after attempting suicide, now appears to have a remarkable strength and the tell-tail signs of becoming a talented writer of poetry. She has also captured the attention of an extremely gifted poet named Ted Hughes (Daniel Craig) and both embark on a passionate journey that leads to marriage and two children. Unfortunately, Sylvia starts to regress back to that place in her mind where darkness speaks to her most clearly. Jealously over her husband's success as a poet, her own loss of creativity as a poet, paranoia and accusations toward Ted being unfaithful (which he wasn't, until driven to it, due to Sylvia's state of mind), all lead to an abrupt end of the marriage, but a newfound passion in her writing. Sylvia begins to truly embrace her writing and feels the sort of freedom she had not felt when married to Ted. Ironically, though, when this would have been the break Sylvia was looking for, it was also the crashing point of her fragile mind and the loss of her life, during a time that could have opened a new world to Sylvia.

A beautifully haunting and deeply intoxicating movie with an outstanding performance by Paltrow, as well as a captivating performance by Daniel Craig. I'm disappointed to say that I'm not familiar with Craig's acting, but very pleased that I was able to see him give the depth, compassion and, yes, pain to this story.

Written by: Lynda Dale MacLean

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