DVD Alert: 'Evening'

Meryl Streep & Vanessa Redgrave as old friends sharing a final reunion. Watch the Trailer: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/evening/26788/main

Here's a nice movie with a great cast that came & went in the theaters. Why audiences shied away from 2007's Evening is a mystery. Was it due to tepid reviews? Or because of its limited release? Or was it branded a chick flick? I suspect its failure at the box office was a combination of all three. We took Mom to see it two years ago and we enjoyed it. Later I listened to the audio book and thought this was one of the few times when a film is better than the novel. Some movies have a new life on DVD and cable and Evening deserves a second chance.
Vanessa Redgrave plays a dying mother sharing her rambling drug-induced memories with her quarreling daughters, Toni Colletti and the late Natasha Richardson who was Vanessa's real daughter. (You see how well Richardson makes the most of her little part. What a loss... ) Mom mentions a Buddy and a Harris... how she and Buddy loved Harris... and how they killed Buddy. The daughters want to know about these names but Mom's night nurse (Eileen Atkins) warns them that Mom could be hallucinating from her pain-killers so they should not take everything she says as factual. We see this happening as well as learning about these characters and others through flashbacks.
Another casting feat is having Meryl Streep and daughter Mamie Gummer playing younger and older versions of the same character, a young bride whose wedding sets the plot in motion. Clare Danes plays a young Redgrave as a college friend who's Gummer's bridesmaid. Some reviewers remarked that Danes didn't resemble Redgrave in looks or manner but I didn't see this as there seems to be a resemblance with their cheek bones and noses. Besides, that, people do change in appearance and attitude over the years so you have to accept this within the bounds of the story.
Glenn Close has a small but noteworthy part as Gummer's upper class mother whose reserved mask shatters during a tragic family event. Hugh Dancy is heartbreaking as Buddy, Gummer's alcoholic brother and failed writer who lives in his own dream world, and Patrick Wilson is fine as Harris, the object of affection of some characters. You might have seen Wilson as Christine's lover in the film version of Phantom of the Opera.
Evening's trailer gives a good idea of what to expect. It's a movie about relationships, commitment, lasting friendships, families, failed dreams, and reconciliations. Some characters find peace, others are haunted by memories and fears. Some reviewers complained of the stilted dialogue and the characters as too sketchy but with this stellar cast lead by Redgrave's exquisite understated performance, you can't go wrong and do expect to shed a tear over these people.
There are good 'Making of' bonus features that will enhance your viewing pleasure. On a personal note we've seen Atkins on stage as a fine Rosalind in Shakespeare's As You Like It about 25 years ago and Close twice on Broadway about that time. I stood next to Close outside the theater but's that's a story for another time.....