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Evening

Impressive cast goes down easy, but leaves a bitter aftertaste

By Brett Buckalew, Special to Metromix

June 29, 2007

Critic's Rating:

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On its surface, "Evening" is a nicely crafted melodrama benefiting from the skillful work of its gifted cast and crew.

"The Hours" novelist Michael Cunningham, co-adapting the screenplay with Susan Minot from her original book, supplies literate dialogue and a keen understanding of how regret can overshadow happiness. Former cinematographer Lajos Koltai directs, infusing every shot with a painterly beauty. And the group of actors assembled is staggering--there's Claire Danes, Toni Collette, Vanessa Redgrave, Patrick Wilson, Meryl Streep and Glenn Close, among others.

Considering all these apparent virtues, it's a shame that "Evening" doesn't hold up under intense scrutiny. Central relationships suffer from a lack of crucial backstory details, and a sympathetic character's demise is cruelly trivialized.

The irony is that death is a dominant motif here. In a present-day-set framing story, ailing Ann (Redgrave), an ex-singer, lies on her deathbed while her two grown daughters (Collette and Redgrave's real-life daughter, Natasha Richardson) tend to her. Ann's reflection on the way her life could've gone prompts flashbacks to a romantic triangle that formed between Ann (played as a younger woman by Danes), her best friend's alcoholic brother (Hugh Dancy) and a friend of the family (Wilson) with a tendency to make anyone with a pulse go weak at the knees.

Transitions from past to present are artfully done, and each member of the cast gets a chance to shine, especially Redgrave, Collette and Mamie Gummer (Streep's real life daughter and a chip off the old block).

All the expertise that has gone into the film makes it the stuff of a pleasant evening indeed, but a sour aftertaste ensures the morning after isn't so hot.

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