Starring
Ben Kingsley, Penelope Cruz, Patricia Clarkson

Based on Pulitzer Prize-winner Philip Roth's novel "The Dying Animal", this memorable story stars Oscar-winners Ben Kingsley and Penelope Cruz.

David Kepesh (Kingsley) is a New York college professor, academic and author who fills his hours with art, music, literature and photography and girls - notably his students. As far as he can see, he could go on like this for years to come. Kepesh, who walked out on his wife and son (Peter Sarsgaard) many years ago, is a tireless advocate of commitment-free affairs.

The astonishingly beautiful, much younger Consuela Castillo (Cruz), also has a mind and heart that Kepesh is desperate to possess. He needs to know if the lust that rules him is about giving or just taking. As their intimate connection transforms them, more than either could imagine, a charged sexual contest evolves into an indelible love story.

Kepesh's relationship with his son is also impressively portrayed in its emotional complexity and his time spent with best friend and poet George (an excellent Dennis Hopper) are incredibly poignant. They have a great friendship and their conversations about the nature of fidelity, monogamy, beauty and all things related to relationships are funny and insightful.

Directed by
Isabel Coixet