EVENING

3 Stars – Thought Provoking

At the end of our life when we face death, we are flooded with memories.  The emotions that surround those past experiences can bring feelings of joy, or feelings of regret.  When regret predominates, it can be a time of healing if we so choose.  Such is the circumstance of Ann Grant Lord (Venessa Redgrave) as she faces the last few days before her death.  In “Evening,” an all-star cast brings the stories of a variety of friends and family to life. 

“Evening” takes us through two stages of the adult life of Ann.  One stage is at the end of her days as she lies in bed suffering the effects of cancer.  Her two daughters are waiting on her daily and often hear her talk, in moments of lucid recall, about people that meant a great to her at some earlier period in her life.  Each daughter is also working out the feelings, fears, and regrets of their own lives with their mother.  As often happens in delayed conversations, parent and child have very different recollections of their life’s journey and the event that occurred.

Although the story of all these people is not complete, a series of flashbacks to a wedding of one of her best friends fifty years ago gives us an insight into the events that shaped her life.  Ann, when she was a vivacious young woman (played by Claire Danes) in the wedding party of her dear friend Lila Wittenborn (Mamie Gummer, who is the daughter of Meryl Streep), makes some decisions about her life that carry with her throughout her days.  The wedding is to take place at the fabulous beach house of her friend’s family, hovered over by the bride’s mother, Mrs. Wittenborn (Glen Close).  Also attending the wedding is the bride’s brother, Buddy (Hugh Dancy), who is in love with Ann.  In the center of the story is the handsome doctor Harris Arden (Patrick Wilson), who had grown up on the property in the servant’s quarters, and whom all three friends loved. 

Not everyone marries for love.  In the 1950’s, there was a strong likelihood that a marriage may have as much to do with security, social status, and business connections, as it did with binding two people together in a perfect union.  Such is the case with xxx’s marriage, in which she has chosen to marry a fine young man approved of by her parents rather than the handsome young man that had grown up on her family’s property.

Lila’s brother is also in love with Harris Arden, but his platonic infatuation would be satisfied if his sister would only marry him.  Ann, is equally infatuated with Harris, and becomes swept up in an affair with him during the wedding weekend.  Lila’s brother Buddy, rebuffed in love by both Ann and Harris, over indulges in alcohol and is involved in a fatal accident resulting in a shared sense of guilt by everyone.

When we reach the final season of our lives, the missed opportunities along the way and the impetuous decisions that we have made invade our mind and conscience.  Do we fail to live full lives each day, or do we live in the past wondering what could have been?  Does this dwelling on the past rob us of a rich life today?  Does our focus on the past have a positive or negative effect on our children?

On the day before Ann succumbs to cancer, she is visited by her old friend Lila (played as an adult by Meryl Streep), and the two reminisce about their lives 50 years ago.  Both married, and had mixed reviews about their life choices.  Both had a different take on whether or not the past was critical to where they were today.  In the end though, this chance reunion provided the healing that Ann needed to free her from past regrets.

Although the story doesn’t reflect any spiritual influence or give any insight into the men that the two women married, “Evening” does remind the viewer that everyone makes choices that are good and bad.  It is only how we choose to be forgiven that allows us to move on to a full life.