A sepia-toned soporific bore, Elegy is an insult to every older man who enjoyed his relationship with a younger woman. Heinously miscast as a playboy professor, Ben Kingsley is far too stiff, depressed and stiff-backed for the part. This is a character tailor-made for Jeremy Irons or perhaps John Malkovich, someone with wit and movement. In one scene where he is moodily staring out his rain-flecked apartment window, his posture is less like a man contemplating mortality than someone pondering the sewage system of his street. It's virtually impossible to imagine Kingsley's character, David Kapesh, pursuing anything sexual. And the scenes where he nuzzles lover Penelope Cruz are cringe-inducing. The film only comes to life in the brief, male bonding scenes with Dennis Hopper. I've not been a fan of Penelope Cruz until recently. But with her work in Vicki Christina Barcelona and this warm, sensual, intelligent and open performance in Elegy, I'm a fan now. Hopper is lively and fun, even if his character is a slightly mean-spirited fount of bad advice. Patricia Clarkson is lovely and expressive in her brief scenes, too. Avoid!