Philip Roth’s 2001 novel “The Dying Animal” is a cruel anatomisation of sexual obsession. Nearing his 70s, Roth’s frequent protagonist David Kepesh endures a fraught romance with his ravishing young student Consuela, whose beauty torments him into jealous anguish. This film adaptation, scripted by Nicholas Meyer and directed by Isabel Coixet, takes more feminist tack, emphasising what Kepesh cannot see: the emotional void at the centre of his infatuation. His conviction that Consuela will leave him is the defence mechanism of a commitment-phobe; erotic preoccupations are likewise an adolescent distraction from the realities of his feelings. His problem is not obsessive love, but lack of love. With crisply beautiful cinematography by Jean-Claude Larrieu, and a set of interestingly nuanced performances by well-chosen actors, Elegy is an elegant, seductive and challenging modern romance.