"Starting Out in the Evening"

The other day, we were deciding whether to see "I Am Legend" at the AMC or "Starting Out in the Evening" at the independent theater. (Yes, two very different types of movies- the only thing they had in common was the show time.) After reading a few reviews, we thought we'd skip the flesh-eating virus-infested zombies that appear with Will Smith and go for the lesser known independent film- and we're so glad we did.

"Starting Out in the Evening" is the quiet story of a retired teacher and novelist Leonard Schiller, played by Frank Langella. He is struggling to finish his last novel and as he is doing so, a graduate student played by Lauren Ambrose approaches him about doing his Master's thesis about the other four novels that he has written. Their relationship takes on a strange form- not exactly romantic, but definitely not a respectable professor-student relationship. I won't give the rest away, but there is great insight about the process of writing and the power of literature over readers. The movie also follows Schiller's daughter, Ariel, a former dancer in search of a committed relationship and motherhood. All the characters are entangled up in their own personal journeys, seeking out what's next for them in life, struggling to create art and act on their ideas while not giving up their own happiness. It is overall a beautifully done movie that is full of subtlety, which the cast does a fantastic job of bringing out and making the characters believable. Definitely recommended for a quiet, contemplative, rainy evening in which you want a thought-provoking movie that will hold your attention without the help of any explosions , aliens, or nudity on screen.