Starting Out in the Evening

Starting Out in the Evening stars Frank Langella as Leonard Schiller, an obscure novelist whose latest effort has been in the works for almost ten years. His life changes dramatically when a young graduate student (Lauren Ambrose’s Heather) approaches him with the hope of writing her master’s thesis on his works; there’s also a subplot revolving around Leonard’s daughter (Lili Taylor’s Ariel) and her efforts to settle down with an old boyfriend (Adrian Lester’s Casey). Buoyed by Langella’s incredibly effective central performance, Starting Out in the Evening initially comes off as a low-key yet undeniably engrossing piece of work – with the richness of the film’s central characters certainly lending the proceedings a distinctly authentic sort of vibe. The increasingly overt inclusion of melodramatic bits, however, slowly but surely puts a damper on the film’s overall effect, and there’s little doubt that a pivotal (yet entirely needless) third-act development plays a key role in Starting Out in the Evening‘s ultimate downfall. That being said, it’s impossible to overstate the effectiveness of Langella’s work here – as the actor delivers what may just be the most compelling performance of his career.

**1/2 out of ****