MOVIE: STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING

ABOUT: Starting Out in the Evening is the film adaptation of the novel by Brian Morton, which follows a writer (Frank Langella) whose world is shaken when an ambitious graduate student (Lauren Ambrose) convinces him that she can use her thesis to bring him back into the lit world spotlight. The film also stars
Lili Taylor and Adrian Lester.

Set in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It was shot in 18 days at a cost of about $500,000. "We had no time, we had no money, we had no perks, we had no room to mess it up," Langella told an audience at a screening.

The film is Andrew Wagner's second, after 2004's The Talent Given Us, and debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007. As of March of 2008, the film has made more than $750,000 at the box office, its widest release being 43 theaters.


REVIEW: Frank Langella is one of those actors who you see in a movie and go "hey, its that guy! I like that guy!". He has never been in a movie where he was front and center. He has never really been able to play a character where he got to show off his acting greatness. He is most recognized for movies like Masters of The Universe and Cutthroat Island (if you didn't see it, its good). In Starting Out In The Evening, for the first time, Langella gets to shine. He is also in Ron Howard's upcoming Frost/Nixon, where Langella plays Nixon. It's as if, late in his career, the industry is now noticing him as an actor instead of a character actor.

The movie is a quiet little film that is good in parts of conversation and the acting. It might be a little slow for moviegoers who expect a lot to happen every 10 minutes in a movie, but for people who like movies with fleshed out characters, here is one that will deliver.

Ambrose is good but is out shined by Taylor. The director Andrew Wagner must really know what he is doing as far as directing actors. His first film, The Talent Given Us, starred mostly his real life family including his parents as the main characters who never acted before. I could have sworn that it was an actual documentary and maybe in parts it was, but for the most part his family was acting and doing a damn good job. I can't wait to see who stars in his next film.


BOTTOM LINE: WATCH IT!


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