This Wednesday, we met to watch and discuss Sylvia (2003) – a film dedicated to an acknowledged American poet Sylvia Plath. After a lively discussion, we arrived at a conclusion that, unfortunately, those who are acquainted a bit with Plath’s biography might feel greatly disappointed. Why?
Well, first and foremost, the movie does not do justice to the complexity of Plath’s psyche. Her life boils down to a tumultuous marriage with a British poet – Ted Hughes. Not only is Plath portrayed here as a hysterical, overambitious and obsessively jealous woman but also as an egoist who orphans her children by committing suicide. Her husband, in turn, is depicted as a victim of this toxic relationship. The viewers are also left with the impression that Plath killed herself mainly because, in the end, she was rejected by Hughes. The film does not mention the fact that Sylvia was suffering from the bipolar affective disorder that is a mental illness in which a person experiences episodes of extreme happiness alternating with severe depression. She was left alone with her sickness as no one could cure her: neither doctors nor her friends or family. It can be seen, then, that her suffering was authentic and tragic. What is more, in the movie Plath’s existence is limited to the role of a wife of the great poet and a single mother later on. Nevertheless, it has to borne in mind that Plath was a great poet, writer and an essayist herself. In Sylvia, her literary output is downsized just to few lines taken from her poems, the name The Bell Jar is occasionally mentioned and the context of literary creation is completely missed out. As a comfort, the spectators will surely appreciate music composed by Gabriel Jared as well as the beautiful scenography.
by Marta Makoś
