Sylvia [DVD][2003]

gwyneth paltrow as Sylvia is amazing! Her face expressions, her voice change, and her body language are just impeccable!

Read the bell jar as a teenager and was always curious to watch this film, only took me 20 years.I am not sure how historically accurate the film is in relation to Sylvia and Teds relationship. I didn't find Gwyneth's portrayal of Sylvia, all that compelling, it felt a bit Sylvia lite and the character lacked any real emotional depth. I didn't feel particularly moved by the film, the endings a bit sad (but we all know the ending.I did overall enjoy the film and would recommend, easy to watch.

Whilst giving an overly simplistic presentation of the relationship between the poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes , this film does conjure something of how it feels to be a writer and deserved a better IMDB score than it received in my opinion . I think you would however need to already be interested in the subject to really enjoy it , or at least be interested in the theme of the artistic process . Ofcourse it is a sad film ( what she could have gone on to become had she lived ! )but the suicide was sensitively handled I thought .

There are many differing opinions on the marriage of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath and ultimately the makers of `Sylvia' are not going to please everybody. However, the film was not weighted to either Plath's or Hughes' point of view, holding them both up as great poets who had a great connection, however positive or detrimental that might have been. The relationship between Plath and her mother is also beautifully explored, as is the relationship between Plath and poetry. This is not just about the marriage of Ted and Sylvia.The casting is magnificent. Both Paltrow and Craig give superb performances and the supporting cast are equally commendable. The film is beautifully presented all round. I loved the use of the colours red and blue to indicate different moods (as in Hughes' poem `Red'). The attention to detail (drawind from both Plath's and Hughes' poetry) is astounding.`Sylvia' is ambitious in what it attempts to convey but I'm not sure the entire audience get the point. I only wish there had been more poetry in it. Watch with an open mind and a hankie.A wonderful film.

You don't have to be familiar with SYLVIA PLATH'S poetry to enjoy this film, which is a sensitive reconstruction of Sylvia'slife and death in England. The opening shot of SYLVIA pedalling furiously towards her Cambridge College catches the mood of her intense, driven attitude to everything -- whatever she did was full tilt, no half measures. And she wanted a man to match: in Ted Hughes she found her soul-mate -- they met and married in a matter of months - four, if I remember correctly.And who could play this man who would in the distant future become our POET LAUREATE? Daniel Craig, that's who -- he is all forceful conviction and with the presence to match her intensity. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Sylvia with energy, pathos, and conviction. They make a great pair, and together have made a fine film.

It did not say in the advert it was produced for the Dutch market although the dialogue was alright there were no English subtitles and as I am hard of hearing it was difficult to follow as some of the actors did not speak clearly. I will be more careful in future and only by direct from Amazons own.

Both Paltrow and Craig turn in masterful performances as Plath and Hughes. Both of them have striking likenesses to the characters they portray in real life and produce a film that is accurate and insightful in relation to the actual real story.Given the subject matter this is a dark and sad film but it couldn't be anything else if it was to be true to the real life story.if you are studying Plath or Hughes at School or College, then watch this, as it brings the story to life.

To what extent is it necessary for a film based on the lives of real people to be accurate. Obviously dialogue and even scene settings will have to be invented, but in the makers of this film in their determination to convey the emotional frailty of Sylvia Plath went far beyond the facts. And in the portrayal of Ted Hughes there were significant inaccuracies. For instance, it was only after his marriage that he was told of Plath's suicide attempt. Does all this matter? Perhaps a film is just a film and should be viewed as such.