Review of Starting Out in the Evening (2007) by Reyna A — 12 Oct 2008

An ode or perhaps tribute to dying are of literature, Starting Out in the Evening is a smart and poignant film. Frank Langella plays aging writer Frances Schiller who has been working on his final novel for the last ten years.

He recenly had a heart attack and now fears he will never finish his last great work. In a way Frances Schiller represents literature in general. As the world turns more and more commonly to easier forms of entertainment, literature is slowly starting to die and become less valued.

But back to the story. A peppy, young grad student (Lauren Ambrose) who loves Schiller's work hunts him down and convinces him to allow her to write her thesis paper on him. She says it could bring his work back into print, and back into the literally spotlight once again.

Most of the film is about their relationship. The rest focuses on Schiller's daughter (Lilli Taylor) and her boyfriend. After a very painful even a few years back, they broke up, but could never get over each other.

Now they're struggling to find out whether they can be together again without it ending in heartbreak. This script here is very strong. About halfway through this film you start to forget it's actually a film.

You feel like this is real life because the characters are so grounded and real. The performances are great all around as well. One of the better over looked films of last year.