Synopsis
As Constance (Natasha Richardson) and Nina (Toni Collette) gather at the deathbed of their mother, Ann (Vanessa Redgrave), they learn for the first time that their mother lived an entire other lifetime during one evening 50 years ago. In vivid flashbacks, the young Ann (Claire Daines) spends one night with a man named Harris (Patrick Wilson), who was the love of her life.
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Cast
- Claire DanesAnn Grant
- Toni ColletteNina Mars
- Vanessa RedgraveAnn Lord
- Patrick WilsonHarris Arden
- Hugh DancyBuddy Wittenborn
- Natasha RichardsonConstance Haverford
- Mamie GummerLila Wittenborn
- Eileen AtkinsNachtschwester
- Meryl StreepLila Ross
- Glenn CloseMrs. Wittenborn
Recommendations
- 75
ReelViews
The strength of the screenplay and acting provide a satisfying, although not overwhelming, two hours of romance, drama, and tragedy. - 75
Chicago Tribune
The film, like the book, is clear-eyed without being clinical, reflective but never maudlin. - 63
Rolling Stone
Susan Minot’s resplendent novel of a dying woman…stumbles on its way to the screen. - 60
Variety
Individual moments are not without their felicitous touches -- mainly due to the cast, which is rich to the point of improbability. - 50
The Hollywood Reporter
What a cast but what a disappointment. - 50
New York Magazine (Vulture)
The film is based on a novel by Susan Minot--one of those books where the author doesn't deign to put dialogue in quotation marks for fear of dispelling the dreamlike mood. It works on paper, but Minot, who shares credit for the adaptation with fellow novelist Michael Cunningham, doesn't understand that screenwriting is the art of taking away. - 50
The New Yorker
This is one of the rare movies that are too sensitive for their own good. - 50
Village Voice
Parked uneasily between sensitive indie and studio chick-flick, Lajos Koltai's Evening makes star-studded hash of Susan Minot's beautifully written, if emotionally constricted, novel.
