Featured Audience Ratings

• paul s

  
  In what could be considered the main theme of Starting Out The Evening, there is the well thought out and acted questions regarding the relationship between a writer and his muse. Part and parcel with this is wondering how a man who is consumed by his writing, so that he almost… More
  In what could be considered the main theme of Starting Out The Evening, there is the well thought out and acted questions regarding the relationship between a writer and his muse. Part and parcel with this is wondering how a man who is consumed by his writing, so that he almost totally withdraws from life outside of writing, can create characters who function and are relevant in the very life he has withdrawn from. This is all fascinating stuff, and since it is embodied in yet another wonderful performance by Frank Langella, you'd think that this would be a sure fire hit. Unfortunately the script veers into a very unsatisfactory second theme involving the uneven acting of Lili Taylor as Langella's 40 year old daughter, who hears her biological clock chiming midnight. I suppose that this secondary theme shows the effects of father on daughter and juxtaposes life versus the escapism Langella has perfected, but really, I feel that all things are thusly connected and in this case the secondary story line detracts rather than augments - kind of like a very weak Greek Chorus in its attempts to bring the core drama more into focus. Essentially the main story (the one worth watching) deals with a grad student (capably portrayed by Lauren Ambrose) who is writing her thesis on Langella, a former literary giant in the twilight of his career. His early scribbles led to a cathartic experience for Ambrose, who now reveres the ground the "great man" walks on - which adds an odd, yet somehow compelling bit of Lolita and a May/December romance that makes Langella begin to question everything, including the characters and plot ark of the novel he has been working on for 10 years. There are some great truths here, and Langella is superb - totally raw beneath the veneer of his intellectual civility; and yet, somehow the entire enterprise seemed derailed by the daughters' tale. It was almost like watching two different films on two screens. One held a pretty tight narrative, with some wonderful insight, that seemed very organic, while the other was full of overly obvious setups and some badly delivered, preachy dialog. At the film's close you simply see a man at his typewriter - starting over on an enterprise he knows he will probably never finish - and yet, since the act of writing defines who and what he is, he follows that instinct, just as a salmon will return to its spawning ground - whether he has anything new to say at this juncture is left to speculation - but regardless, write he must.

• Jim H

  
  A reserved, hard-working, washed-up novelist battles age as a young grad student interviews him for her thesis and his relationship with his daughter falters because of her choice in men. Frank Langella is phenomenal in the lead role of this tightly constructed and intelligently… More
  A reserved, hard-working, washed-up novelist battles age as a young grad student interviews him for her thesis and his relationship with his daughter falters because of her choice in men. Frank Langella is phenomenal in the lead role of this tightly constructed and intelligently written drama. He lets us know Leonard Schiller in little gestures like his reflexive withdraw from Heather's kiss on his hand and some of his more impulsive actions in the third act. The character's deep pain comes through Langella's reserved exterior, and the script gives us subtle moments like his prodding of Casey about "compromise." Lauren Ambrose is almost up to the task of keeping up with Langella, but it's Lili Taylor who truly rises to the challenge as this father/daughter relationship is one of the most believable I've seen on screen in a while. The film's theme focuses on what we give up to remain sane in our relationships -- all our relationships, with each other, with our work, with our hopes for the future -- and how time is the constant antagonist. I thought the film's pace slowed down in the second act, and Schiller's attraction to Heather was never fully clear. Is this a sexual relationship in the fullest sense of the word, or is it intellectual with occasional sexual trappings? And why does Heather react as she does in the third act? Overall, this film is worth seeing for Langella and for the opportunity to see an intelligent film about intelligent people, which is a rarity in this age.

• jay n

  
  Wonderful performance from Frank Langella is the main attraction of this film. Slow and at times a little dull but worthwhile to watch a master at work.

• Rico Z

  
  This movie has everything that I love in a movie: an air-tight, engaging and excellently-written script; cream-of-the crop actors (talent-wise, not tabloid-wise) who really grip you with their intensity and utter devotion to the characters they are playing; and a director who really… More
  This movie has everything that I love in a movie: an air-tight, engaging and excellently-written script; cream-of-the crop actors (talent-wise, not tabloid-wise) who really grip you with their intensity and utter devotion to the characters they are playing; and a director who really knows what the film they're making is all about and what it should mean to the people who are watching it. Lauren Amborse (one of my favorites--of Six Feet Under fame) is a true revelation as an ambitious grad-student who is completely enamored with the world of literature and its escapist qualities. She is so in love with words that she is also in love with the man responsible for writing some of her favorite "works of art." This man would be Anthony Langella's character (and out-of-touch; hiding in the darkness, forgotten writer who is working on his latest (and presumably his last) great novel. Still, something is keeping him from completing his work of art (10 years in the making) and he's not sure why he's unable to just hammer it out and finish it. This is when Ambrose's character comes in and "shakes things up" for an old writer who has little chance at ever being published again and therefore, being forgotten for all time with no legacy to leave behind. Lili Taylor is outstanding as the writer's daughter. Her subplot storyline of feeling neglected by the men in her life (her father included) is heart-breaking and tender as well. It really shows you that this film is really a character showcase and it allows its actors to really sink their teeth and completely embody the characters they portray. There is so much hurt and joy and learning that words can cause and there is a way of using words to shield ourselves from the things we want protection from. But ultimately, the truth about the way we work and why we do the things we do comes to light and slaps some sense into us. We need words to slap us into believing in ourselves again. We need words to know how we truly feel about one another. We need words to live. We needs words to survive in a world where words are not spoken in order to spare someone's feelings or to strip someone from feeling anything altogether. Words give us our dignity--and when, for example, a writer runs out of words, sometims what's needed is somone to give that person the will (no matter how late in life; no matter how late in the evening of your existence) to speak words once more.

• Walter M

  
  In "Starting out in the Evening," Leonard Schiller(Frank Langella) is an aging novelist whose novels have long been out of print and now teaches English at a university. Aiming to rectify that is Heather Wolfe(Lauren Ambrose), a graduate student at Brown University who… More
  In "Starting out in the Evening," Leonard Schiller(Frank Langella) is an aging novelist whose novels have long been out of print and now teaches English at a university. Aiming to rectify that is Heather Wolfe(Lauren Ambrose), a graduate student at Brown University who wants to write her master's thesis on Leonard's books. At first, he is hesitant, not wanting to be distracted from work on his latest novel(for the record there is no greater distraction than a redhead), but having survived a heart attack the previous year, mortality is creeping up on him and Heather's mention of a University of Chicago Press contact strikes a chord, as does her own publishing success in a literary journal. "Starting out in the Evening" is a talky and theatrical movie that is salvaged by a marvelous performance by Frank Langella along with key support from Lili Taylor and Adrian Lester(Lauren Ambrose however does not fare as well). In fact, it is a late sequence between Langella and Lester that puts the movie in perspective. What it seeks to convey is the selfishness of writers in their solitary pursuit of glory. However, for Leonard who is reserved and shy, it is the perfect occupation. Considering he works not unlike a lot of other people to support his family, while also entertaining and enlightening the general public, how selfish can he be? Heather also made a choice between Brown University and her boyfriend back in Ohio and it is one she is happy with. And isn't having children itself selfish?

• Glenn G

  
  Really fine performances by everyone, but man has this film been played out a million times over and over?

• John B

  
  Poor Frank Langella. The career character actor finally gets to be the leading man and his movie goes directly to video (practically)...and then only some video stores have it. If you can find it, give it a watch.

• Hal M

  
  Fine drama revolving around the relationship between an aged writer and a very young female 'fan'/critic. A little like Harold and Maude--they're such an unlikely pair. Also important though is the writer's daughter, played by Laure Nambrose, as she tries to… More
  Fine drama revolving around the relationship between an aged writer and a very young female 'fan'/critic. A little like Harold and Maude--they're such an unlikely pair. Also important though is the writer's daughter, played by Laure Nambrose, as she tries to figure out what next in her romantic life, as she approaches 40. Like everyone else I applaud the acting of Frank Langella (the writer), but the female leads are terrific too! I think the young girl, played by Lili Taylor, had an even more difficult role and played it perfectly. A soft-spoken, thoughtful film.

• William G

  
  Langella is very good, and Taylor all but his match, in understated literary drama.

• Richard F

  
  Like "Away from Her" and "Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man", this film suffers from Lionsgate's amateurish production style. Like those movies, this plays like a made for TV movie on the Lifetime channel at times. Other times it feels like an episode of the… More
  Like "Away from Her" and "Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man", this film suffers from Lionsgate's amateurish production style. Like those movies, this plays like a made for TV movie on the Lifetime channel at times. Other times it feels like an episode of the "Larry Sanders Show" or "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Moreover, supporting cast is comprised of members of the cast of "Six Feet Under", adding to the HBO flavour. Once I lowered my cinematic standards and stopped focusing on the overlit sets, I could finally delve into what is a somewhat interesting character study, albeit the themes are not necessarily resounding here. Bottom line, this film does not live up to the rave reviews it undeservingly received.

• Sunil J

  
  I got more out of the dialogue in this movie than anything else.

Read all 11 featured audience ratings