Starting Out in the Evening is thrilling in a way that a movie larded with car chases and explosions can seldom be, because of the way it deals with that basic building block of civilization, the creative process.
Overview
Leonard Schiller once counted among New York's literary lions, but illness and ten years of writer's block have lowered his profile, almost to the point of obscurity. When Heather Wolfe, an ambitious literature major, asks to interview him for her thesis on his work, her interest forces him to address the issues that he has avoided all these years, and stirs in him feelings he has long forgotten, much to his daughter's consternation.
Director and cast
- Andrew Wagner Director
- Lauren Ambrose as Heather Wolfe
- Lilli Taylor as Ariel Schiller
- Frank Langella as Leonard Schiller
- Patti Perkins as Dolores
- Adrian Lester as Casey Davis
- Lili Taylor as Ariel Schiller
- Dennis Parlato as Author
- Jeff McCarthy as Charles
- Michael Cumpsty as Victor
- Jessica Hecht as Sandra Bennett
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
Langella's nuanced performance saves the film; the actor has an understated but powerful role, and he takes full advantage.
It's Langella's performance that anchors the film.
What to do with this light, while it lasts? [Director] Wagner's problem is to find an answer to that question and also to offer some resolution to the conflicts of honesty and compromise the movie portrays.
A strong cast and a literate script make for a refreshingly subtle film.
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