A star-studded drama that critics called a colossal waste of a talented cast
In short: The 2007 film Evening gathered an extraordinary ensemble of actresses, yet it was widely panned as a dull, lugubrious misfire. While reviewers praised individual performances, they criticized the film's labored dialogue and its inability to translate a delicate literary narrative into a compelling cinematic rhythm.
Directed by Lajos Koltai and based on the 1998 novel by Susan Minot, Evening follows a dying woman named Ann Grant Lord as she reflects on a transformative weekend in the 1950s. The narrative shifts between her final days in the present and her youth in Newport, Rhode Island, where a wedding weekend ends in tragedy after a series of romantic entanglements and a fatal accident involving her friend Buddy. The screenplay, co-written by Minot and Michael Cunningham, attempted to capture these temporal shifts, but critics found the execution lacking in grace.
The film is notable for its massive gathering of talent, which some critics described as one of the greatest diva round-ups in modern movie history. Despite this, the reception was largely negative. Rotten Tomatoes awarded the film a 28% approval rating, with the site’s consensus labeling it a colossal waste of resources. Metacritic similarly recorded a score of 45%, indicating mixed or average reviews. Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly went as far as to rank it the second-worst movie of 2007.
Critics pointed to several factors for the film's failure. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times criticized the florid visual style and false dialogue, while Justin Chang of Variety noted that the narrative rhythm felt calculated rather than illuminating. Richard Schickel of Time suggested that the collaboration between Minot and Cunningham resulted in an inert, lockjawed production. However, not all feedback was entirely dismissive; Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle found the film’s pessimistic, nihilistic view of life to be an unexpectedly interesting departure from typical cinematic messages, and Peter Travers of Rolling Stone highlighted flashes of brilliance from actors like Hugh Dancy and Claire Danes.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Evening (film)
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