Starting Out in the Evening [2007] Movie Reviews on CinemaClock

Starting out in the Evening is a beautiful film about the writing process and how the publishing industry has become more about commerce and less about art. It perceptively demonstrates how literary interpretations reveal as much about the reader as they do about the writer. The characters and story are so true to life, they make you want to read the fictional novels that are discussed. Of course you can't, but there is the novel by Brian Morton on which the movie is based. The film is blessed with low-key, understated, nuanced performances. Frank Langella gives one of his finest portrayals as the once celebrated but now forgotten author. The character is repressed, modest and graced with a humble integrity; his most intense emotions only occasionally bubbling up through the surface. His vulnerability is so raw, it makes you feel like reaching through the screen to protect him. Lili Taylor, as his gifted but struggling daughter, is always such a treat to watch. Adrian Lester gives a textured, likeable turn as her charming, sometimes supportive, but self-centered lover. Lauren Ambrose is impressive as the obsessive fan who is unable to see past her own image of her beloved author. She is at once earnest, idolizing, well-meaning, manipulative, deceitful, conniving, and betraying. With its gentle pacing, and sometimes heartbreaking moments, Starting out in the Evening is realistic, but ultimately optimistic. No matter what obstacles are thrown in his way, the author decides not to give up, to keep trying, to keep writing.