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Evening

PG-13 Released Jun 29, 2007 1h 57m Drama List
27% Tomatometer 129 Reviews 48% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
Lying on her deathbed, drifting in and out of consciousness, Ann Grant Lord (Vanessa Redgrave) calls forth memories of her one true love, Harris Arden (Patrick Wilson). As a young woman, she met Harris at her best friend's wedding and had a brief affair, but it ended when he left her to marry another. As Ann recalls the bittersweet time in her life, her daughters (Toni Collette, Natasha Richardson) try to come to terms with her imminent death.
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Evening

Evening

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Critics Consensus

Beautifully filmed, but decidedly dull, Evening is a collossal waste of a talented cast.

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Critics Reviews

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Hank Sartin Time Out Rated: 2/5 Nov 18, 2011 Full Review Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly Rated: C+ Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Derek Malcolm London Evening Standard The performances are oddly muted, as if the screenplay refuses to allow a fine cast full rein. But those who loved the book can be assured that it has been translated faithfully enough to the screen. Rated: 2/5 Sep 21, 2007 Full Review Heather Huntington ReelzChannel.com Rated: 4/10 Feb 9, 2011 Full Review Mike Scott Times-Picayune Given its stellar cast -- including Vanessa Redgrave, Meryl Streep and Glenn Close -- and source material, it's hard not to think it should be better. Rated: 2/4 Oct 23, 2009 Full Review Fernando F. Croce CinePassion Antiseptic bourgeois swank Aug 27, 2009 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Fiona M The cast was impeccable. The story flimsy and lacking anything to keep the viewer engaged in the lives of the characters. Great acting. Poor storyline. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 10/23/23 Full Review Kris G they killed buddy....wtf Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/18/23 Full Review john e My 2022 quest to see all Meryl Streep films continues. This time the film is "Evening". Take two Oscar winning iconic actors (Meryl Streep and Vanessa Redgrave)… pair them with their own real life actor daughters (Mamie Gummer and Natasha Richardson)… throw in even more award winning actors (Glenn Close, Toni Collette, and Claire Danes)… and you should have a monumental two-hour masterpiece. Or not. Anne Lord (Redgrave) is on her death bed and reliving a specific time in her past. Her daughters (Collette and Richardson) care for her as she wafts in and out of consciousness. Lord continues to mentally revisit a period in her youth (now portrayed by Danes) when she was close friends with Lila (Gummer) and Lila's family. Through them she met Harris (Patrick Wilson) a man with whom she would develop feelings and eventually have a one-night affair. And now, in her final hours of life, she wonders what would have happened had she had pursued a life with Harris. Glenn Close is magnificent as Lila's steely mother, and Hugh Dancy delivers an amazing performance as Lila's emotionally tortured brother, Buddy. Really, all the primary players deliver fine performances. Despite all the premiere acting though, the film just doesn't work. As Lord is breathing out her final hours, she's visited by Lila (now portrayed by Streep). Yet despite their previous close friendship, neither of Lord's daughters have met her. And Lord's daughters can't seem to figure out if they like each other, both bickering and believing the other is judging her. But saddest of all is that in her final hours, Lord is fixated on a man she barely knew from decades earlier in her life. I'm just not sure what I was supposed to garner from this film. Despite its wonderful cast, it was quite frankly a bore. It is a film that unfortunately gives "chick flicks" a bad reputation. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Perhaps not all quality literature truly excels in cinematic format? This film should be far above average if the book has a story remotely worth telling. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Should have been titled the Bug Snooze Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Frances H Again I must disagree with the critics--this film moved me, perhaps more than some audience members, because I am an ld woman myself and have begun to look back on my life, even though I am not terminally ill. I think that most of us who are old and have lived long lives do this on a fairly regular basis, because although death may not be something we face imminently at the moment, it will come sooner than we thought when we young. And though I'm getting closer to it, I don't think I'm obsessing over it as much as when I was young. I've seen more people die--my parents, my sister, aunts and uncles, and the first deaths in my life, my grandparents. Those deaths were not ones that I would wish lingered. Death as a release from pain is, I think not al together a bad thing when one is in pain. So looking back on one's memories, especially since there are so many of them, is something old people do, and can even find comfort in. As Simon and Garfunkel sang, "How terribly satang to be 70," the age I am right now. There are many things I wish I had done differently or not done at all, but the past can never be changed. So, as the night nurse said, "Remember being happy." A lot of wisdom in that! Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 05/20/21 Full Review Read all reviews
Evening

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis Lying on her deathbed, drifting in and out of consciousness, Ann Grant Lord (Vanessa Redgrave) calls forth memories of her one true love, Harris Arden (Patrick Wilson). As a young woman, she met Harris at her best friend's wedding and had a brief affair, but it ended when he left her to marry another. As Ann recalls the bittersweet time in her life, her daughters (Toni Collette, Natasha Richardson) try to come to terms with her imminent death.
Director
Lajos Koltai
Screenwriter
Michael Cunningham
Distributor
Focus Features
Production Co
Hart Sharp Productions
Rating
PG-13 (Language|Brief Accident Scene|Sexual Material|Some Thematic Elements)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 29, 2007, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$12.4M
Runtime
1h 57m
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