Too much of everything

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

I can't believe I sat for two hours to learn I shouldn't be afraid of making mistakes.

My wife and I watched this movie at home on DVD from our public library.I don't usually seek out movies I missed when they were fresh but lately we have been watching the TV series "Homeland" and being impressed with Claire Danes in it I decided to look up her movies we might have missed, and this is one.The story starts in present time, which I suppose was the early 2000s, when the central character Ann is in old age and nearing death. The whole movie is her remembering the past and present issues her two daughters are dealing with. So it is presented as a back-N-forth, showing scenes of the 1950s then showing present day. It is very effective and we get to know Ann and those important in her life.There is a Harris she mentions in her delirium, those around her are not sure Harris was real. Until an old friend, played by Meryl Streep, shows up and explains Harris, played by Patrick Wilson in the 1950s. She and he had a thing briefly, did she regret that it didn't come to fruition?The story wants to make the point that life is NOT about missed opportunities and/or mistakes, life is about what you actually experience and where it takes you. No regrets.The central character is played by Claire Danes as the younger Ann and by Vanessa Redgrave as the older Ann. It a very nice touch one of Ann's daughters was played by Natasha Richardson who is Redgrave's real life daughter. Also Streep and her daughter played the older and younger versions of the same character. Great cast, good movie, sort of like reading a novel but over a 2-hour time period.

Evening of consciousness comes when one barely recalls how he or she considered his/her deed in a certain situation, and if recalled, one can barely distinguish the right deeds from the wrong ones. It transpires that we are "mysterious creatures", craving things that end up as totally unimportant to us. Evening of life comes when we stop caring for life, except when we see a flying butterfly. We begin to chase it as the epitome of life that we long forgot! The wedding song tells of a lover who rejoices in her beloved one hurrying to see her in the evening after his working day is over. May be one needs some fellow creature hurrying to see him/her in their evening of consciousness that is their evening of life. This is what occurs as Lila (Meryl Streep) visits her dying friend (Vanessa Redgrave) on her deathbed. Lajos Koltai made a wonderful movie. Scenery is amazing. Cadres are fantastical. It's the type of film that one wishes to see again and again. Thanks to the cast and crew. Lovely work of art.

Before I saw "Evening", I actually read the synopsis to see what the movie was about. I originally thought this was something like "The Notebook". During the first 45 minutes, it was actually set up as a love story. We see an elderly Ann (Vanessa Redgrave) in her deathbed longing for the love of her life and her greatest "mistake", Harris. This had an enormous impact on her daughter, Nina who was at a crossroad in her life. She was torn in "settling" down for someone who's been with her for the past three years or "waiting" for her one great love. Then the movie explored an event, in great detail, which happened in Ann's youth that had an enormous impact on Ann's life: the wedding of her best friend, Lila. During this event, we were introduced to Buddy, Lila's brother who had been pining at Ann for quite some time but doesn't have the courage to own up to it. We also meet Harris, the son of the caretaker of the family's Newport Beach vacation house. Harris was so close to Buddy and Lila as they were growing up. Lila was deeply "in love" with Harris and she was waiting for him to pursue her. It is in the middle of all this that Ann met Harris for the first time. Ann and Harris immediately "clicked". However, Buddy was convincing Ann to talk Lila out of the wedding and pursue Harris instead. In an unfortunate twist of events, Ann and Harris decided it was best for them to part ways because being with each other will just remind them of the fateful events that happened after Lila's wedding. Both of them, in some way, feel responsible for it. As the movie was going on, I was expecting the movie to preach about the importance of chasing someone you feel strongly about. After all, I was watching a love story. Lo and behold, it went on another direction. A bold one at that! Lila visited the dying Ann who was looking for some confirmation that she made a mistake in letting Harris go. I guess, when you're at that point in your life, you also look back on things as if regret will make you feel you have the obligation to go on living to correct it. I loved how Lila (Meryl Streep) put it and how she refused to looked at their lives as a failure to live it. And before she went, she left a statement to Nina that made things clear for her. A statement that made her fear of making the "wrong" choice disappear almost instantly. I loved how the film puts Ann's life in perspective. I loved how it refused to reduce a dying woman's life into a big mistake. While it's true that Ann's life will be vastly different if she ended up with Harris, who's to know if it will turn out any better? In the end, I would like to think that Ann got the validation that she wanted. It wasn't a mistake that she let Harris go. After all, that choice did lead her to having two daughters she dearly loved. And to quote Lila: "Your mother had her whole life. She sang at my wedding... she raised two girls... we can't know everything she did. We are mysterious creatures, aren't we? "Is it sad that Ann and Harris who seem to be perfect for each other don't end up together? Yes but the movie wasn't about that. It's about finding the true joy in your life no matter what you end up getting. As Lila put it, there are happy days and there are days that are not. But while I love how the movie came full circle in the end, it could have been so much powerful with such a strong message. I think the pace of the screenplay could use more work although I did love how it tried to steer clear of melodramatic tendencies. Sadly, Danes who's a great actress, failed to shine here. She didn't have any rapport with any of the actors. Patrick Wilson was also lacking the charm that the character calls for. This movie is actually the antithesis of "The Notebook". And while I love "The Notebook", I also deeply appreciated this movie's honesty and bold statement that seemed to be directed to the stereotypical love stories out there: It doesn't mean that your life is a mistake if you don't end up with your "greatest love". After all, not all of us live our lives as if we own a magic ball that can tell our future. We call it as we see it. We are indeed mysterious creatures...