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That Evening Sun

Play trailer Poster for That Evening Sun PG-13 Released Nov 6, 2009 1h 49m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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81% Tomatometer 37 Reviews 76% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Vowing not to die in a nursing home, Abner Meecham (Hal Holbrook) leaves the facility and returns to his Tennessee farm. There, an unpleasant surprise awaits him: Abner's son has leased the property to ne'er-do-well Lonzo Choat (Ray McKinnon) and his boorish family. Abner suspects that the Choats will not be able to afford the farm, and he moves into a shack to await their departure. Tensions escalate between Abner and Lonzo, each determined not to yield.

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That Evening Sun

That Evening Sun

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Critics Consensus

Powered by a formidable leading turn from Hal Holbrook, That Evening Sun is a prime cut of southern gothic that offers plenty of meditative atmosphere for audiences to brood over.

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Critics Reviews

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Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Watching Holbrook, I was reminded again of how steady and valuable this man has been throughout his career. Rated: 3.5/4 Apr 22, 2010 Full Review Marjorie Baumgarten Austin Chronicle As lovely as it is to see the veteran actor Holbrook working his craft as the lead actor in this Southern-fried drama, it's not enough to lift the movie from its sodden melodramatic roots. Rated: 2/5 Mar 19, 2010 Full Review Bill Goodykoontz Arizona Republic There is a predictability to the story, but that's OK. The acting is superb, Holbrook in particular, making That Evening Sun an understated pleasure. Rated: 4/5 Feb 10, 2010 Full Review David Harris Spectrum Culture Holbrook's steely performance makes the film worth seeing. Rated: 3/5 Aug 5, 2020 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com With his bravura performance, vet actor Hal Holbrook elevates this modest indie rural drama considerably. Rated: B Jul 28, 2011 Full Review Rob Humanick Projection Booth Forget Up in the Air: That Evening Sun is truly a film for our times. Rated: 4/5 Jul 21, 2010 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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bill k One of the slowest moving, uninteresting films ever. Hal Holbrook must be ashamed for having taken part in this loser. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 08/24/17 Full Review Audience Member I'm a big Hal Holbrook fan (his Mark Twain show was great), but thought Ray McKinnon did a nice job in this movie, as well. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member An excellent film that gives a great actor his proper due. Writer/Director Scott Teems gives an interesting look into relationships and what it means to be neighbors. An engrossing dark Southern drama. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Although William Faulkner wrote a memorable short story which shares the title of this movie, the film is actually based on a story by William Gay called, "I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down." I have not read Gay's story; nevertheless, I feel comfortable guessing that like so many movies based on literary works, the power of the original story came from the inner life and thoughts of the protagonist and supporting characters. Simply watching the actions of the actors play out onscreen becomes an empty exercise when you don't know what they are thinking and where they have been. I can certainly understand why Hal Holbrook took the part. In the role of Abner Meecham, Holbrook gets to inhabit a haunted character whose present and future are such that even a past full of regrets and mistakes becomes food for nostalgia. But we only get glimpses of who this character really is; this is also true to Meecham's nemesis, Lonzo Choat. This is a problem. The success of these types of stories where strong characters go head-to-head and there is no room for compromise, it is vital that the audience becomes invested in the characters. And considering that the elderly Meecham is a widower with a disloyal son who has forced him to move into a nursing home after secretly selling the old man's beloved farm, Meecham instantly becomes the underdog we want to root for. But the title of the movie isn't, "An Unexpected Triumph." And since we understand that the main character is fighting a losing battle, it becomes unbearable to think that Choat, the stereotypical Southern "white trash" slightly sadistic drunk, is going to win. At this point, sitting through the movie can seem masochistic: there has to be a payoff. We need to be surprised by the characters: not by whatever shocking actions they may take out of desperation (too predictable) but by their humanity, pathos, and whatever humanity they have left. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member [Holbrook is] wonderful. 22 5 2013 Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member A so-so story of a cranky old man wanting to take back his farmland from a "white trash" family whose patriarch has a bad reputation. Acting was fine, but the story line is not quite the best. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Read all reviews
That Evening Sun

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Movie Info

Synopsis Vowing not to die in a nursing home, Abner Meecham (Hal Holbrook) leaves the facility and returns to his Tennessee farm. There, an unpleasant surprise awaits him: Abner's son has leased the property to ne'er-do-well Lonzo Choat (Ray McKinnon) and his boorish family. Abner suspects that the Choats will not be able to afford the farm, and he moves into a shack to await their departure. Tensions escalate between Abner and Lonzo, each determined not to yield.
Director
Scott Teems
Producer
Laura D. Smith, Terence Berry, Walton Goggins, Ray McKinnon
Screenwriter
Scott Teems
Distributor
Freestyle Releasing
Production Co
Dogwood Entertainment
Rating
PG-13 (Thematic Elements|Brief Strong Language|Some Violence|Sexual Content)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 6, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 10, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$280.3K
Runtime
1h 49m
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