Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype

SteinMo What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

L. Denis Brown 'Evening' is a film to ponder over rather than to enjoy. It currently has an IMDb user rating of 6.5 stars, but in general it has only received a moderate reception from film critics. We are told that it is a film about an elderly lady who is on her deathbed throughout the entire movie and is looking back on her life to review the mistakes that she feels she has made. Supported by two daughters who had different fathers, she tells us very early on that she has had 'several' husbands. The film opens when in a half conscious state she keeps speaking the name of another man of whom neither of her daughters are even aware. The story behind this emerges slowly through a series of half remembered flashbacks - often in a way that is quite difficult to follow on first viewing. 'Evening' is clearly intended to be a film of some significance, its theme, the self-assessment of ones own life as it draws to a close, is a universal one, and it must be reviewed on this basis - not simply by a trite comment that it was less (or more) enjoyable than expected. Unfortunately the unfolding of this story is an integral part of its appeal, so a detailed discussion would completely spoil the film for anyone yet to see it. Rather than this I have decided to restrict my comments to impressions formed when first watching it, followed by a brief assessment made after the second viewing which I found was necessary before I could fully follow the story. Readers should be aware that 'Evening' is much more polished than most new films and this critique may therefore not adequately reflect its very considerable qualities.1. 'Evening' is ultimately a 'soap opera' - probably intended to appeal primarily to women - but it is more profound than most films of this type and should provides equally enjoyable viewing for both sexes.2. Good points include its overall visual appeal and superb photography (which reminded me of Jack Cardiff's work at many points). Also I am hard of hearing and I appreciated that the optional DVD subtitles were firmly located in the black band below the wide-screen image. Oh how many fine films have been spoiled for me by a line of script superimposed along the bottom edge of the image and often unreadable.3. Next in importance to the general image quality is the acting, the cast here were given the opportunity to create real characters - not cardboard cut-outs - and they largely succeeded in this. Most films that include so many great actors feature several cameo performances presented largely in isolation, but here the interaction between these characters was exceptional. In particular I must rate a reminiscences sequence between Vanessa Redgrave (Anne) and Meryl Streep (Lila) as truly superb cinematography.4. The flashbacks feature a Newport "Blue blood' family which still believes in arranged marriages to secure the continuance of the family line and fortune. This is not P.C. today and is intrinsically hard to fully accept.5. The sound track is an abomination - whenever a Director fails to appreciate the proper impact of periods of silence many scenes become ruined by totally intrusive background music. If I want to see a musical I will pick one and enjoy what I am expecting, but too many dramas today are presented as half baked musicals and I have no time for this.6. The flashbacks are not presented as fragmentary dreamlike recollections but as an ongoing almost continuous story, which is very confusing 7. Much of the sequencing seemed all wrong. Anne on her deathbed appeared as if she should have had teenage grandchildren around her; instead one of her daughters was just considering starting a family. Anne tells us that she has had several husbands but the story as presented seems very incomplete as all the flashbacks relate to one of her pre-wedding romances.My final assessment after later consideration:.This film would have been better scripted sequentially. with the story gradually developing, and viewers left unaware of how things worked out in advance. This would have eliminated a lot of confusion, but might have conflicted even more with the original novel (which I have not read). Many database users have commented that the film already departs too far from this novel - but they have also suggested that the novel as written is almost unfilmable. Whether based on history, literature or drama; a film must never distort its source, but there is a solution to that problem.. Instead of claiming to represent the source material, the film can claim only to be a story inspired by it. By mutual agreement the necessary recognition can be paid in this way without inhibiting the screenwriter from doing his job properly.Ultimately we go to the cinema to be entertained, and I have to report that despite all its qualities I did not enjoy this film as much as 'Soft Fruit' - an Australian film with a very similar theme but clearly made with a much lower budget. Directed by Christina Andreef and produced by Jane Campion (the conjoint creators of 'The Piano'); this was filmed with a much less experienced cast, but somehow by the time it ended I found I was feeling as if I really knew the characters (and was wanting to root for them too!}. This never happened with the much more reserved characters portrayed in 'Evening" - leaving the viewer with something of the feeling of having watched a documentary presentation which gave no real sense of involvement.

jehaccess6 I have watched this movie three times. The last time, I kept skipping around confusing scenes to find resolution for the plot. Perhaps the plot is not intended to hang together logically. Or perhaps these rough spots are in the plot because Ann's recall of distant events is rather faulty.Take the young Ann Grant (Claire Danes). Here is a young woman who has attended an unnamed college with the scions of a rich family. She must have had help to afford this very expensive education, but never seems to have any family ties at all. She never seems to have any relatives she can turn to when the consequences of one of her disastrous decisions take effect.Ann shares an evening of passion with her great love Harris Arden (Patrick Wilson). Then, when Harris comforts Lila after the tragic death of her brother Buddy, Ann suddenly finds him repulsive and is disgusted with her own behavior. I must have missed something significant here. Ann's behavior seems totally inexplicable. Ann abandons her relationship with Harris and eventually marries one of the groomsmen at Lila's wedding. Despite Ann's rejection of Harris, she continues to hold deep feelings for him on her deathbed.It was obvious from his behavior that Harris was deeply smitten with Ann and would have gladly married her. A scene showing their chance meeting years after Lila's wedding showed that Harris still had deep feelings for Ann.The film showed a pattern for Ann's romantic relationships. She always had a falling out with her men and she rejected them. This pattern held with Harris and two husbands. In contrast, Lila married a man she did not love and she remained with her husband until he died. Perhaps Lila was able to build a relationship because she refused to let her marriage fail.Then came the too convenient reappearance of Lila Ross at Ann's bedside. Apparently Ann's nurse was able to extract enough information from Ann's last few lucid moments to identify and contact Lila. None of this communication appeared on the film.I kept wondering about the house Ann was living in during her final days. How did she afford to buy such a house on the meager earnings of her singing career? Ann always seemed one step ahead of financial disaster while raising her two daughters.On another level, I enjoyed the film's setting and music immensely. The seaside mansion was just so heartbreakingly beautiful. Claire Danes was luminous as the young Ann Grant. She is really quite a talented singer. I much prefer her natural brunette to the bottle blonde look she had in the film extras. If only those pesky CGI fireflies would go away, I could raise the movie a whole point in my vote!

nobraine Who was Bobby? I saw the movie twice and don't remember a Bobby. There was an extra named Bob once I saw the credits here on IMDb. What happened to Bobby.I wonder if this person means Buddy played by Hugh Dancy. But if they watched the movie how could they get the name wrong? What does this now bring up. A person gets a major character's name wrong and passes it off as a fake character? I don't get it. I don't think they saw it. It's very sad when comment on movies or anything that they haven't watched and try to pass that along and then vote for it. Maybe Bob, an extra, died at some point, but I didn't see it in the movie.

Neil Turner If you cannot enjoy a chick flick, stop right now. If, however, you enjoy films that illustrate complex characters and provide extraordinary acting, read on.Ann Grant Lord is dying. Her two daughters arrive to be at her bedside. Ann begins talking about people from her past of whom the daughters are unaware, and they question as to whether these lost acquaintances are real or imagined. They come to realize that these people from their mother's past are, indeed, real.The story shifts, basically, between 1953 and circa 2000 with a few glimpses at Ann's life between those years. It was in 1953 that Ann met the love of her life and experienced her life's greatest tragedy.One of Ann's two best friends from college, Lila, is being married. Ann's other best friend is Lila's brother, Buddy. Lila and Buddy are the children of a rich Newport family, whereas Ann is a cabaret singer living in Greenwich Village who wants to be a free spirit but is still bound by many of those 1950's conventions.Soon after Ann arrives to be maid of honor at Lila's wedding, she meets the person who will become the pivotal character in the lives of the three - Harris. He is the adult son of a former servant of the family who grew up with Lila and Buddy and has gone on to become a physician in a small New England town. Ann immediately becomes enamored of Harris which adds a complication to the fact that Lila has always been in love with Harris and continues to be. Buddy, also, is in love with Harris, but being 1953, he has redirected that homosexual desire for Harris to his good friend, Ann for he cannot admit to himself that he has a sexual craving for another man. Buddy exhibits his inner frustration outwardly by being the alcoholic, wise-cracking bad boy of the family - much to the chagrin of his very proper and uptight parents.Needless to say, all of these expressed and repressed emotions lead to tragedy - after all this is a chick flick.In the present time, Ann's daughters have become distant from their mother and are suffering their own life realizations and doubts. Constance is working to emotional exhaustion trying to keep up her roll as perfect mother and wife. Nina, having always felt inferior, cannot maintain a relationship.Stir all of these relationships into a span of fifty years, and you get an intriguing look at society, its values, and its effects upon the personalities and actions of the complex people involved.All of the acting in Evening is excellent, but there are some extraordinary performances and scenes - along with two unique family relationships - that make this film so very, very special.Claire Danes plays the 1950's Ann, and she does it in a style that clearly shows an intelligent woman of those times who is conflicted by what she is supposed to do as opposed to what she wants to do. Her performance is not easily forgettable.Vanessa Redgrave plays the dying Ann whose mind shifts from the present, to the past, to flights of fantasy, and of course, Redgrave pulls it all off with sterling style.Natasha Richardson - Redgrave's real daughter - plays Ann's daughter, Constance, in the film. The scenes between this real life mother and daughter playing fictional mother and daughter are an insightful treat to watch.Toni Collette plays Ann's other daughter, Nina. Nina spends a good deal of her time being depressed and feeling sorry for herself while shutting out a good man who loves her as well as her mother and sister. Collette is perfect for a part such as this, but I have never seen her give a bad or unbelievable performance no matter what part she plays.Mamie Gummer plays 1950's Lila and shows us a woman even more conflicted of her expected role in life than her good friend, Ann. She is very good.Meryl Streep - Gummer's mother - plays present day Lila. What is there to say about Meryl Streep other than she always gives an insightful and rewarding performance.Director Lajos Koltai states in the DVD extras that he sought out Glenn Close to play the relatively small part of Lila's mother because he felt she was the only actress he could think of to play one scene in the film. He certainly was right, and Close's performance in that one scene etches it in your mind. All the other scenes in which Close is Lila's very proper mother, and you get another performance to treasure.There are three other scenes in the film, combined with the one featuring Close described above, that make the whole movie worth watching. On Lila's wedding day, Ann comes into her room and crawls into to bed with her friend to discuss Lila's misforgivings about her upcoming wedding to a man she clearly does not love. This scene is repeated fifty years later when Lila comes and crawls into bed with her dying friend Ann to talk about the lives they have lived. In this latter scene, Streep and Redgrave are enthralling.The other memorable scene - at least to me - is when Buddy declares his love for Ann. Hugh Dancy as Buddy gives us a heartbreaking performance of a young man torn apart by his conflicting sexual feelings. His performance is superior.Chick flick? Yes. A very special film with unbelievable acting, directing, and scenery? Definitely. I cannot recommend Evening too much.