Evening

Starring: Claire Danes, Toni Collette, Vanessa Redgrave, Natasha Richardson, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Hugh Dancy and Barry Bostwick

Written by: Susan Minot and Michael Cunningham. Based on the book by: Susan Minot

Directed by: Lajos Koltai

Distributor: Focus Features

Rated: PG-13

Even when an author has a hand in adapting her own novel for the screen, things get lost in translation. Somewhere between 264 pages of novel and 113 minutes of movie, details disappear. In the interpersonal ensemble drama that is Susan Minot’s Evening, the result is a sort of a cinematic thematic apperception test. The characters are precisely vague enough so the audience has no option but to read aspects of their own personal lives into the framework of the plot.

Venessa Redgrave stars as Ann Grant – am elderly woman at the end of her life who is being looked after by her two daughters (Toni Collette and Natasha Richardson). Due to the effects of her medication, Grant finds herself having vivid memories of life as a very young woman, played by Claire Danes (Shopgirl, Romeo+ Juliet) and centering around the wedding of her friend Lila Wittenborn to a man she may not love.

Wittenborn is played by Mamie Gummer throughout most of the film, though when she shows up at the end – decades later in the story – she is played by Gummer’s real-life mother, Meryl Streep. It’s a clever trick – appearances and mannerisms carry over from daughter to mother. The problem is that not enough time is spent with either actress to truly make for a memorable performance.

The film’s marketing stresses how Evening features some of the best screen actresses “of our time.” What it doesn’t mention, however, is that they don’t actually spend much time together onscreen. Glenn Close makes only a brief appearance and scarcely interacts with anyone. Meryl Streep has exactly one scene. Vanessa Redgrave has little more to do than babble about the past. Claire Danes . . . okay, there is a lot of Claire Danes in this film and she is given a full range of emotions. We see her struggling with her lack of self-confidence and her love for Buddy in spite of his tendency toward self-destruction. We see her briefly feel comfortable with the idea of becoming a jazz singer. We see her grow contented with her role as mother. We see it all and Danes is excellent in the role, but it still seems clichéd and overly sentimental.

There’s very little here that feels fresh or new, though this is not to say that it isn’t quite beautiful. The cinematography is lush and pastoral, even if it isn’t particularly inspired. Having spent the better part of four decades as a cinematographer, Director Lajos Koltai’s visuals are perfectly framed. Motion is deftly executed and it’s all assembled well. But this is only Koltai’s second time directing a feature film. Weighted so heavily in the visual, Evening feels off balance. With such beautiful locations and tremendous talent filling them, a far better film could’ve been made. VS