Review: Submission

Ted Swenson (Stanley Tucci) is 49 years old, happily married to Sherrie (Kyra Sedgwick), and tenured at a liberal arts college in Vermont. The latter is a bit of a sore point for the novelist, whose debut novel earned him acclaim and declarations of being an author to watch ("Who knew that that christening would turn into my eulogy," he notes) but whose second novel is a protracted work-in-progress.

His ten years at the college haven't provided him much satisfaction. Where he used to come into class wanting his students to fall in love with him and his teaching, now he just "wants to get through the hour without major psychic damage." So it comes as no surprise when his interest is piqued by Angela (Addison Timlin), a self-effacing student whose comments during class are more than the usual mindless palaver Ted is used to hearing. He's further intrigued when she not only name-checks one of his favourite authors but also shyly gushes about her love for his novel.

Ego stroked, he agrees to read some pages on the novel she's currently working on. Entitled Eggs, it tells the story of a young woman's affair with her professor. Factor in the rumour that one of her previous works may have stemmed from an actual stint as a sex worker and it's not too long before Ted is indulging in some lusty thoughts about Angela.

For those familiar with either Francine Prose's novel The Blue Angel, from which Submission is adapted, or Josef von Sternberg's 1930 film, on which Prose based her work, it's crystal clear that things will not end well for the professor. Whether his fate will be as tragic as the one that befell Emil Jannings in Sternberg's drama will remain unspoiled, but the meat of the narrative has to do with the power play between Ted and Angela, who soon proves herself to be no victim. Which is not to excuse Ted's actions - Angela may have tempted him to cross a line, but he crossed it nonetheless.

The tilt in power shocks and startles, particularly because the pivotal scene in which Ted inevitably surrenders to his urges is done in such a way that his humiliation and her triumph are so palpable that one can't help but wince at the former and be both unnerved and mesmerised by the latter. Much of the credit goes to Tucci, who manages to make Ted a sympathetic figure despite, but perhaps because of, his flaws, but especially Timlin, who more more than holds her own against her more esteemed co-star.

Submission

Directed by: Richard Levine

Written by: Richard Levine; based on the novel The Blue Angel by Francine Prose

Starring: Stanley Tucci, Addison Timlin, Kyra Sedgwick, Janeane Garofalo, Ritchie Coster, Colby Minifie, Jessica Hecht