Possession
Maud Bailey, a brilliant English academic, is researching the life and work of poet Christabel La Motte. Roland Michell is an American scholar in London to study Randolph Henry Ash, now best-known for a collection of poems dedicated to his wife. When Maud and Roland discover a cache of love letters that appear to be from Ash to La Motte, they follow a trail of clues across England, echoing the journey of the couple over a century earlier.
Critics Sentiment
LaMotte's candlelit dinner smile leads to their bedroom encounter
Final discoveries about the Victorian poets' secret affair
The film peaks with the transcendent Victorian romance scenes but drops significantly when resolving the mystery, losing the magic that made the period portion compelling.
Reviewers consistently praised the Victorian storyline with Jeremy Northam and Jennifer Ehle as exceptional, calling their romantic scenes transcendent cinema. However, critics found the modern romance with Paltrow and Eckhart predictable and less compelling, with several noting the film's uneven quality where one half soared while the other merely functioned. The overall sentiment reflects a handsomely produced period piece that succeeds artistically in its historical segments but falters in its contemporary parallel story.
Full cast
Showing 20 of 22
Gwyneth Paltrow
Maud Bailey
Aaron Eckhart
Roland Mitchell
Jeremy Northam
Randolph Henry Ash
Jennifer Ehle
Christabel LaMotte
Lena Headey
Blanche Glover
Holly Aird
Ellen Ash
Toby Stephens
Fergus Wolfe
Trevor Eve
Cropper
Georgia Mackenzie
Paola
Tom Hollander
Euan
Graham Crowden
Sir George
Anna Massey
Lady Bailey
Elodie Frenck
Sabine
Shelley Conn
Candi
Holly Earl
May Bailey
Kate O'Toole
Mrs. Jameson
Meg Wynn Owen
Mrs. Lees
Roger Hammond
Professor Spear
Jeanne Marine
University Secretary
Tom Hickey
Blackadder
Crew
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