Evening [HD]

Nostalgia and Reverie - A Cinematic Mood Piece
Criticism of the film EVENING, based on the novel by Susan Minot and adapted for the screen by Minot and Michael Cunningham, has been harsh, so harsh that it may have discouraged many viewers from giving the film a try. The primary criticism has centered on the fact that very little happens in this film about a dying woman's fretting over a mistake she made one summer in her youth, that famous actors were given very minor roles, that the entire production was over-hyped, etc. For this viewer, seeing the film on a DVD in the quiet of the home, a very different reaction occurred.

Ann Grant Lord (Vanessa Redgrave) is dying in her home by the ocean and her medication and memories allow her to share a man's name - 'Harris' - with her two grown daughters Nina (Toni Colette) and Constance (Natasha Richardson). As her daughters sit at her bedside Ann relives a particular summer when she was a bridesmaid for her best friend Lila (Mamie Gummer) - a marriage both Ann (Claire Danes...

Superb performances alone simply cannot rescue EVENING from mediocrity.
This will undoubtedly be the toughest review that I have ever written. I went into this film with the highest of expectations. I was not disappointed with any of the acting as it is uniformly superb (surprisingly most from Hugh Dancy in a "Greek Chorus" commentary performance that I found truly touching!).Oscar nods for acting would not surprise me in the least for a number of these fine professionals! I was charmed and lulled with Jan A.P. Kaczmerak's hauntingly poignant original soundtrack. The camera shots are beautiful. The set design and costumes are appropriately period.I will probably remember much of what I saw and mull it over in the coming years.I truly wanted to be bowled over by this film, but I left the theatre feeling flat, confused and unfulfilled. The shifting back and forth between the time frames was not at all a problem (I was already comfortable with THE HOURS and THE NOTEBOOK and YA-YA) so that wasn't it.

My conclusion was that the screenplay just...

Spend An Evening With These Fine Actresses
Caught a special screening of the film and I was just blown away by the performances. It's one thing to know that these actresses are in the film but to then see them together on the screen is a joy.

If you're a fan of The Notebook you'll love this film. It's a sweeping romance that takes place against a beautiful backdrop of the New England cliffside. The cinematography takes full advantage of the location.

Claire Danes has come to visit her good friend on her wedding weekend and she gets swept up in a romance with Harris, played by Patrick Wilson. Too bad for Hugh Dancy's character, cause he's got some issues.

This is all happening in flashback as Claire Danes' character, now played by Vanessa Redgrave, recounts the tale to her grown daughters.

The performances are top notch. Meryl Streep shows up later in the film but I don't want to spoil it. I cried at least five times throughout the film and I can't wait to see it again...

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