Somewhat similar in theme to the Peter O'Toole vehicle Venus, Andrew Wagner's Starting Out in the Evening—based on the novel by Brian Morton—focuses on a relationship between an elderly man and a much younger woman. Novelist Leonard Schiller (Frank Langella) is an extremely reserved widower, an East Coast intellectual seduced by an aggressive graduate student (Lauren Ambrose) who initially approaches him for help with her thesis and eventually comes on to him—an advance that Schiller reacts to with a mixture of amazement, fear, and desire. The script is intelligent and literate, the direction sensitive and low-key, and the supporting cast (including Lili Taylor as Schiller's unhappy daughter) is uniformly excellent. But it's Langella who truly stands out, giving an almost unnaturally subdued performance as the genteel, reticent, and recently unproductive writer who's been emotionally withdrawn since his wife's death and physically cautious following a mild heart attack. A gently affecting little film about love and art that is both sympathetic and tastefully done, this is recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by writer-director Andrew Wagner, and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for a fine film.] (F. Swietek)
Starting Out in the Evening
Lionsgate, 111 min., PG-13, DVD: $27.99, Apr. 22 Volume 23, Issue 1
Starting Out in the Evening
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