Based on Nicholas Gage's much-respected, best-selling nonfiction book, ELENI follows journalist Gage (John Malkovich) as he uses his assignment as the head of the New York Times's Athens bureau to investigate his mother's execution during the Greek Civil War. Alternating between Gage's
present-day pursuit of the facts, and flashback re-creation of the turmoil that gripped his village during the war, the film slowly exposes the truth about the death of his mother, Eleni (Kate Nelligan).
Though some critics felt Peter Yates's film failed to convey the intensity of Gage's book, ELENI is nonetheless intriguing, carefully paced, and not without its moments of high drama. Malkovich, Nelligan and Linda Hunt all turn in fine performances. leave a comment
