word can not capture the sadness i feel that this film have rob me of two hour of my life . it be almost impossible to say which part of the film be the bad and since screenplay and direction and and performance be all so reprehensibly bad . there be so many laughable plot turn that i be not sure if this screenplay be even proofread by someone with any distance . the catalyst for the film intrigue and a couple of stolen letter that one of our protagonist pilfers from a rare book library and be only the first of many weak moment that in the transition from text to screen lose any plausibility . someone should have bother to go into a manuscript and rare book archive to see what steal from one of these institution would really be like . i be actually quite a fan of a. s. byatt and whose novel be the original source material for this drivel . possession a a novel be fun and but seriously flaw when transfer to the screen by an underwhelming cast and crew and though and those flaw become insurmountable obstacle . any subtlety in the novel juxtaposition of the two relationship disappear and replace by the lumbering cliche that permeate the dialogue . david henry hwang be a fine writer for the stage and but foray into film have more often than not prove that he have not quite master the celluloid it just isn not his medium . rather than transfer the novel richness to the screen and he have attach himself religiously to it rickety frame and certainly not it most successful characteristic . gwyneth paltrow british accent be and a usual and just shy of be believable . both paltrow maude and aaron eckhart roland be barely cardboard cutout rather than character and and the actor do little to flesh them out . poor jeremy northam and jennifer ehle and two fine actor and be squander in the victorian scene where they barely have enough material to establish mood . a for the representation of academic life and it more than a little absurd and which be actually fine with me since academic life be even more absurd than this film could hope to capture . overall and i be terribly disappointed and since i be hop this would be good candy for the academic set .