What Do The Critics Say?

"A psychologically rich drama dealing with the matters of the heart we must face as we swing from the ardor of first love to the peace of our last breath: yearning, memory, mistakes, regret, and the healing power of friendship." Frederic and Mary Ann SPIRITUALITY & PRACTICE "It courts its audience with a warm story about lost loves and paths not chosen, and it boasts an array of strong performances from its top-notch ensemble." Adam Graham DETROIT NEWS "Danes, radiant with intelligence, warmth and common sense, captures your heart." Timothy Knight REELCOM "Even though this looks like the quintessential chick flick, my message to men is: don't avoid this film. This beautifully told story captivated and drained me." Tony Medley TONYMEDLEY.COM 'Manipulative at times, but it resonates with gleaming ferocity as it unspools a story of regret, longing and resolution in two generations of women." Connie Ogle MIAMI HERALD "It's all about emotions with deep connections between the characters." Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone THEMOVIECHICKS "Evening is a powerfully affecting love story, told from the dream-bound perspective of bedridden, near-death Ann (Vanessa Redgrave), as her two daughters (Toni Collette, Natasha Richardson) watch and wonder what she’s mumbling about. A substantial and engrossing film. It’s Danes’ portrayal of the central role that is most impressive." Jason Ferguson ORLANDO WEEKLY

"It is fascinating to see a life in its formative years juxtaposed with its ending. All the hope and opportunity of youth is very seductive: the glossy hair, powdered faces, red lips and swinging skirts are all so bold and pretty. It's interesting, and at times sobering, to see the results of choices made in the early twenties. "Evening" is an emotional, rollicking narrative that deals with life and death, love and loss and mothers and daughters. The film is based on Susan Minot's best seller, and was adapted by Michael Cunningham of "The Hours" fame." Georgia Sholl OURBRISBANE "Evening's visual period splendour, its vivid characterizations and their comfortably clichéd relationships somehow draw us in and make us care." Rob Salem TORONTO STAR "It took me a while to warm to these people and their self-consciously idyllic settings -- as well as to the slick direction of former cinematographer Lajos Koltai -- but I was eventually won over." CHICAGO READER "It’s all terribly Great Gatsby, and fun to watch." Liz Braun JAM! MOVIES "I thought the film actually worked rather well and I like very much this notion that the dying mother remembers people that her daughters have never heard of before and in fact what was obviously really quite a small incident in her life and yet, for her, now she's looking back on it in death, was a defining incident in her life. And I think that's handled rather well in the film, and I think all the performances are good. I think Lajos Koltai does a fine job of direction." David Stratton ABC AT THE MOVIES

The Inside Story If you were a big fan of the Stephen Daldry film "The Hours", you'll probably experience a bit of déjà vu when it comes to "Evening". You see, "Evening" reunites a number of people who appeared in or worked on the film that won Nicole Kidman an Oscar. There's writer Michael Cunningham; costume designer Ann Roth and actresses, Claire Danes. Toni Collette, Eileen Atkins and, 14 times Academy Award nominee & two time Oscar winner Meryl Streep. "Evening" is the big screen adaptation of Prix Femina Étranger winner Susan Minot's novel of the same name. In writing her novel Evening, author and screenwriter Susan Minot had hoped that "anyone following the woman’s story would think about what’s important in their own lives, what they cared about the most, and how they would want to live their own lives moving forward." Like so many readers of the beloved best-seller, producer Jeffrey Sharp’s affinity for the novel was at once highly personal and universal. "The novel explores a woman’s look back at her life while her children sit at her bedside, learning more about secrets from their mother’s past. When you watch a parent or a loved one nearing life’s end, they are going to a place that their children oftentimes are unable to comprehend. For the children, there is a strong desire to go to that place with the parent and to try and understand what’s happening with this loved one. But you probably can’t; it’s a whole lifetime, and you have to realize that you’re only one component of that lifetime," says Sharp. In 2003 Sharp while Sharp was producing "A Home at the End of the World" he shared "Evening" with the films screenwriter Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Cunningham. "He immediately read it and felt strongly that it was something he would like to work on adapting for the screen," Sharp recalls. "It was a story about a mother at the end of her life looking back and wondering if she made mistakes. It came along at a time when my own mother was very, very ill, which made it feel like providence. Susan is a writer I admire enormously. I loved the book, but I knew right away that we were going to have to make major changes in order to turn the novel into a film. There were dozens of characters in the novel, all well drawn, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to include them all. Before I committed to the project, I called Susan and told her how much I loved the book and how honored I was to be asked to work on the screenplay. I told her that I’d have to make considerable changes," says Cunningham. After assuring her of his loyalty to her she responded, "Let’s go ahead. See what you can do." "So, I did," Cunningham stated. Minot remembers, "I told Michael, 'Whatever it takes for you to get into the story, do it.' He was able to retain the structure of the book as well as its themes, while also putting some of his own style into the script." With the film rights secured and a screenplay to work with, the filmmakers went to casting directors Kerry Barden ("The Woodsman" & "Monster's Ball"), Billy Hopkins ("World Trade Centre" & "Unfaithful") and Suzanne Smith ("Deja Vu" & "The Shipping News") to find their cast. They secured their leading lady then and there. "Claire Danes read Ann Grant, and it was just a wonderful experience. We felt we had something," Sharp remembers. "Both the novel and the script are fantastic. I took advantage of having the novel, as a rich resource. But the adaptation reinterprets it wonderfully for the film medium," Danes notes. "It has its own freshness and urgency. I feel that the film considers the question, 'What makes a life?' We are all human and searching throughout our lives," she said. "My character is having defining experiences and starting to make life choices. It’s always exciting to play somebody undergoing a transformation," says Danes. "It didn’t surprise us to find that Claire was Lajos’ first choice for the lead role as he had worked with her before, as a cinematographer ["Home for the Holidays"]; she was made for it, or it was made for her. Similarly, Lajos’ first choice was to play Ann Lord was Vanessa Redgrave. While the character may be in bed for almost all of her screen time, with Lajos directing Vanessa we knew that Ann Lord would still come across as dynamic. Luckily, she too had just seen and loved "Fateless", so Lajos and I flew to London to meet with her. Within seconds, it was as if they had known one another for years. It became a done deal over a cup of tea," Sharp explained. Natasha Richardson who plays Ann’s older daughter Constance worked with her mother on the film, "The White Countess". "My mother and I told Lajos, 'This is the only time we’ll ever get to play mother and daughter on film, and we want to take advantage of that.' So Michael wrote a very beautiful scene into the script just for us." Richardson and Redgrave weren't the only mother and daughter team cast for "Evening". Mamie Gummer and her mother Meryl Streep were cast for the film. Gummer plays the young Lila Wittenborn while her mother Meryl, plays Lila Ross. "Ann Grant and Lila don’t have a whole lot in common, yet they are best friends with unconditional love for each other. They were drawn to each other in college, and they formed a sisterly bond. Off-camera, Claire and I perfected that friendship," says Gummer. "I really loved playing scenes with Mamie; it’s not often that I have the opportunity to play out a female friendship of true intimacy on-screen. She is a gifted and beautiful actress, and we are now great friends ourselves," Danes noted. "Mamie had blown us all away in one audition, and then again in another that we scheduled because she was so great the first time. Lajos immediately wanted her to play Lila Wittenborn; it was only afterwards that we told him that Mamie is related to an actress named Meryl Streep." So how did the two end up in the film? "Credit for the idea of Meryl appearing as Lila Ross [the later in life Lila Wittenborn] belongs to our costume designer Ann Roth and our hair and makeup designer J Roy Helland, both of whom have worked with Meryl for years and years. Ann gave the script to Roy, who was in Central Park rehearsing "Mother Courage" with Meryl. Roy just happened to leave a copy on her dressing-room table. She read the script, loved it, and thought it would be fun to be in the movie." Mamie said that she "was really happy that she could help her mother find a job." Glenn Close, who was cast as Lila's mother Mrs Wittenborn and worked with Lajos on "Meeting Venus" said, "Lajos and I have stayed friends, but; you get a well-written story like this with wonderfully complex characters being played by extraordinary actors like Vanessa Redgrave, and you really want to be a part of it." What was it that stood out in the character she would play? "I like Mrs. Wittenborn; she is so much like a lot of the women I remember from growing up in Connecticut. The writing captured the air these women have." Aussie actress Toni Collette who recently worked with Shapr and Robin Williams on "The Night Listener" was cast as Lila's second daughter Nina. Sharp told her: "I’ve got that great part for you; you get to be as beautiful and fabulous as you are in real life! Within a week of my giving her the script, she called and said she wanted to play Nina. Watching her interact with Vanessa and Natasha in their scenes together, I could see extra texture being added into material that was already very rich." There are two strong male characters at the heart of "Evening". Hugh Dancy was cast as Buddy Wittenborn. "We needed an actor who could incarnate a character that every audience member will care about and relate to," Sharp said. "Hugh recognized all that, and gets it on-screen in spades. Hugh is strikingly handsome, but he also has a real talent for getting inside a character and turning in a tremendous performance. I’ve noticed that in each of the diverse roles he’s played over the past few years, and Lajos also knew his work already." "I was blown away reading the script; the character's journeys were complex, engaging, and human. Buddy is quite charming. He deals with his family by drinking too much and by joking about everything," says Dancy. Key to the whole story is the character Harris Arden played by Patrick Wilson. "Given his talent, we had always thought of Patrick Wilson for Harris; however, we figured he would be unavailable. But we sent him the script and he fell in love with it," says the producer. "I fell in love with the story, like all of us did," says Wilson. "It inspires you to savor the life and love that you have. What I found daring about the script was that there is a beautiful romantic story but it’s intercut with these wonderful scenes between a mother and her daughters. As an actor, I liked that I would have plenty to play, because a lot happens among Harris, Ann Grant, Lila, and Buddy. It’s a little messy; like life really is." Dame Eileen Atkins plays Ann Lord’s night nurse. "My character is a caregiver who doesn’t get emotional about anything. Yet she is kindly and warm toward Ann; and when the one person you see all the time is a nurse, in your mind the nurse can become all kinds of thing," Atkins offers. It seems everyone was full of praise for the director, who does a superb job. "He has a deep sense of how people relate to each other, and is quite focused on performances because he values actors," says Danes. "You feel that he cares about everything; no detail is missed or overlooked. There is a great level of comfort with him," Gummer noted. "Lajos does something on the set which I think is ideal; he takes actors aside and talks with them quietly, so that no one else can hear. It’s a more private and gentle interaction," Minot revealled. "He loves actors and writers, and respects what they can do. After decades as a cinematographer, he has a sophisticated and magical visual imagination," says screenwriter Cunningham. "Lajos comes from a very rich tradition of Hungarian filmmakers. Many of them cut their teeth when there wasn’t a lot of film stock, so they would have to edit in their heads more; he has precise discipline and doesn’t waste time," Close said. Synopsis

Seen through the prism of one mother’s life as it crests with optimism, navigates a turning point, and ebbs to its close. Overcome by the power of memory, Ann Lord reveals a long-held secret to her daughters Constance and Nina. Both are bedside when Ann calls out for the man she loved more than any other. But who is this Harris, wonder her daughters, and what is he to our mother? While Constance and Nina try to take stock of Ann’s life and their own lives, their mother is tended to by a night nurse as she journeys in her mind back to a summer weekend some fifty years ago, when she was Ann Grant, a young woman who has come from New York City to be maid of honor at the high-society Newport wedding of her dearest friend from college, Lila Wittenborn. The bride-to-be is jittery, and turns to her maid of honor rather than her own mother for support. Ann stays close to her friend, yet is even closer to Lila’s irrepressible brother Buddy. Unexpected feelings surge forth once Ann meets wedding guest Harris Arden, a lifelong friend and intimate of the Wittenborn family. Ann’s love for Harris will change her life, and those of her daughters, forever.

The Verdict "Huge cast includes, Claire Danes, Vanessa Redgrave, Toni Collette, Glenn Close, Natasha Richardson, Meryl Streep, Hugh Dancy and Patrick Wilson as Harris Arden. "Evening" features rich images, a glorious cast and a fascinating storyline. Claire Danes gives another outstanding performance in the films lead role as the young Ann Grant. Danes star just keeps burning brighter and brighter. Once again, as she did in "Igby Goes Down", "The Family Stone", "The Hours" and "Stage Beauty", Danes, the 1997 Young Artist Award winner & the 1997 YoungStar Award winner, shows just what an accomplished actress she is. While "Evening" might be seen as a 'chick flick' by most guys, there are two strong (as far as the storyline goes) male characters roles that are central to the success of this production. The balance is provides by High Dancy as Buddy and, Patrick Wilson as Harris. "Evening" is worth seeing for its cast alone. Very recommended. 4 STARS" Cast & Crew Bytes "EVENING" stars .......
1995 Golden Globe Award and 1998 London Critics Circle Film Award winner Claire Danes ["Romeo + Juliet", "Shopgirl", "Terminator 3" and "The Family Stone"]; 1994, 1996, 1998 & 2003 AFI Award winner Toni Collette ["The Hours", "Japanese Story", "Connie & Carla" and "Little Miss Sunshine"]; 1969 Cannes Film Festival Best Actress and 1978 Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner Vanessa Redgrave ["Girl, Interrupted", "The Pledge" and "Venus"]; 1991 & 2006 Evening Standard British Film Award winner Natasha Richardson ["Maid In Manhattan", " Asylum" and "The White Countess"]; 1980 & 1983 Academy Award winner Meryl Streep ["Sophie's Choice", "Kramer V Kramer", "The Hours" and "The Devil Wears Prada"]; Mamie Gummer ["The House of the Spirits", "Reservations" and "The Hoax"]; 1997 & 1998 Glenn Close ["Air Force One", "101 Dalmations", "Le Divorce" and "The Stepford Wives"]; 1999 Evening Standard British Film Award winner Eileen Atkins [" Mrs Dalloway", "Gosford Park" and "The Queen of Sheba's Pearls"]; Hugh Dancy ["Young Blades", "Black Hawk Down" and "King Arthur"] and 2006 Young Hollywood Breakthrough Performance Award Patrick Wilson ["My Sisters Wedding", "Hard Candy" and "Little Children"] as Harris.
"EVENING" was .......
directed by Lajos Koltai [Cinematographer on "Malèna", "Taking Sides", "The Emperor's Club" and "Being Julia"]; screenplay by Susan Minot ["Stealing Beauty"] and 2003 USC Scripter Award & Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Cunningham ["The Hours" and "A Home At The End Of The World"]; adapted from the book "Evening" by author Susan Minot ["Rapture", "Monkeys" & "Lust and Other Stories"]; art direction by Jordan Jacobs ["On The Run" and "The Education of Charlie Banks"]; costume design by 1997 Academy Award winner Ann Roth ["The English Patient", "Changing Lanes", "The Hours", "The Stepford Wives" and "The Good Shepherd"]; production design by Caroline Hanania ["Town & Country", "Serendipity" and "Shall We Dance"]; edited by Allyson C Johnson ["Dinner Rush", "Vanity Fair" and "The Namesake"]; cinematography by 2004 & 2005 Golden Swan Award winner Gyula Pados H.S.C. ["Biztosítás", "Kontroll" and "Sorstalanság"]; original music by 2005 Academy Award winner Jan A.P. Kaczmarek ["Bliss", "Unfaithful" and "Finding Neverland"]; produced by 2001 Independent Spirit Award winner Jeff Sharp ["You Can Count on Me", "Nicholas Nickleby", "P.S." and "Proof"]. Who's Who?

Claire Danes Vanessa Redgrave Toni Collette Patrick Wilson Hugh Dancy Natasha Richardson Margaret Coen Meryl Streep Mamie Gummer Glenn Close Barry Bostwick Eileen Atkins Cheryl Lynn Bowers David Call Kara F Doherty David Furr Timothy Kiefer Ebon Moss-Bachrach Jerry Quinn Chris Stack Sheila Thomas Sarah Viccellio

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Young Ann Ann Grant Lord Nina Harris Buddy Wittenborn Constance Lord Constance 4yo Lila Wittenborn Young Lila Wittenborn Mrs Wittenborn Mr Wittenborn Mrs Brown Peach Pip Chloe Ralph Haverford Carl Ross Luc Piano player Phil Mars Mrs Ross Lizzie

Run Time 117 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2007 - Focus Features - All Rights Reserved ©2007 All Rights Reserved - Protected by Australian & International Copyright. Trademark Laws Apply.