>>REVIEW
Evening
STARRING Meryl Streep, Toni Collette, Claire Danes, Vanessa Redgrave
DIRECTED BY Lajos Koltai
Opens June 28
Evening, the new film written by novelists Michael Cunningham (The Hours) and Susan Minot, teeters between melodramatic Hallmark movie and poignant novel adaptation. Well, not so much teeters as plays hopscotch back and forth and then plants its feet squarely in melodrama for the last 45 minutes.
Deathbed remembrances of lost love and overdue reconciliations cover no new ground, but that isn’t to say that Evening is a complete failure. Vanessa Redgrave is wonderful as the dying Ann Grant Lord who dreams of a friend’s wedding in the distant past. Redgrave brings a mix of wisdom and childlike wonder to the role, lighting up the screen even while lying sound asleep.
Likewise, Claire Danes is magnetic as the tough and worldly Ann in her younger years, and Toni Collette gives a standout performance as the elder Ann’s rebellious daughter. Along with strong supporting performances by Hugh Dancy and Patrick Wilson, the cast manages to squeeze everything they can out of the film’s lack-lustre script.
For the first hour the story is engaging. Lajos Koltai’s skillful direction provides a classic feel, as upper-class social politics and feminism take centre stage in an early 20th century style soap opera. Ann, the strong young woman from New York, Buddy the loveable drunk, Lila the reluctant bride-to-be and Harris the servant’s-son-made-good, interact in exactly the way that anyone would expect.
Though the story isn’t nearly as good as many of its ilk, it remains enjoyable until the second half. Evening’s shortcomings become apparent as events that were hinted at in the first half begin to unfold, decisions are made and wounds are healed, a process that seems to take an eternity. The film starts winding down at the hour mark and takes more than 45 cliché-filled minutes to finally end. |
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