‘Evening’ Challenges ‘Chick Flick’ Stigma, Questions Life’s Pressing Questions

Submitted by HollywoodChicago.com on July 8, 2007 - 6:18pm

Rating: 3.5/5 CHICAGO – “Evening,” which failed to materialize in two previous attempts, was finally filmed in the hands of Hungarian director Lajos Koltai.

In his inaugural English-speaking film, he confronts two double-edged swords: the stigma associated with an American “chick flick” and a story that’s uplifting while simultaneously depressing.

Patrick Wilson (left) and Claire Danes in “Evening”
Photo courtesy of Gene Page
The film is fixated on the deathbed of a woman who reflects decades back on the few golden moments of her life. Despite two bad marriages, Koltai – who speaks with a thick accent from Budapest – hones in on just two days. He says the film pays homage to the up-and-down nature of life and the big decisions we make.

“Everyone is trying to belong to someone,” he said in a Chicago interview with Adam Fendelman. “This life is not without problems. Even though there weren’t many golden moments, at the end she goes back to them because she was so busy living her everyday life. Don’t forget to ask the important questions at the end.”

Koltai, who willingly accepts all the blessings and the burdens of life, has designed this film so people can realistically relate.

“We had a beautiful, red-carpet opening in New York. Yesterday, though, I was waiting at the airport for five hours with cancelled flights and everything going wrong,” he said. “Now I’m having a good time with you. In an hour, I’m going to Minneapolis and who knows what will happen. Life’s always up and down.”

He encourages audiences to realize that, accept it and let it be. With great intention, you learn very little about her typical years. In the last two weeks she’s alive, she announces to her two daughters a name they’d never heard before. It’s her memory of being in true love even though he wasn’t the man she ended up marrying.

Meryl Streep (left) and Vanessa Redgrave in “Evening”
Photo courtesy of Gene Page
Shot with picturesque aesthetics and due to the topics covered, you’d be quick to tag the film as a chick flick. Only recently learning the meaning of the phrase, Koltai sensitively disagrees: “It’s not a chick flick.”

It is. Despite many critics and moviegoers who scoff at the concept, though, there’s no shame in admitting it and there can be great virtue in exploiting it. He added: “People are unsure about their lives. They go to the cinema to have important questions answered. I’m giving them some answers with this film.”

Choosing between a relationship that’s romantically fated and one that’s necessarily stable is often one of life’s loftier decisions. Though it’s unclear whether she regrets the choice she made, Koltai wants you to question your own life and the choices you’ve made.

Based on the novel by Susan Minot and adapted for the screen by Minot and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Cunningham, its timing the third time around finally fit. Cunningham said in the film’s production notes: “It came along at a time when my own mother was very, very ill, which made it feel like providence.”

Claire Danes (left) and Mamie Gummer (right) in “Evening”
Photo courtesy of Gene Page
Koltai says he only shot what was needed. While many first film cuts range between three and four hours, Koltai says his first version came in at two hours and 19 minutes.

Utilizing very little CGI and original structures that weren’t built for filming, it was edited to one hour and 52 minutes. A devout art-history buff, Koltai says he typically dreams up his movies before seeking real-life images. He describes the house used in the film, for example, as nearly identical to what he imagined.

As the story centers around a mother and her daughters, it was important for Koltai to cast two pairs of mothers along with their real-life daughters. The film, which was shot as an independent with a $14 million budget, surprisingly featured a star-studded cast.

He says the film came in under budget. While Koltai isn’t against the film making money for the benefit of the studios, he says cash wasn’t his first priority. He wants to give people answers.

Claire Danes in “Evening”
Photo courtesy of Gene Page
Koltai says big names like Meryl Streep and Glenn Close – who played big roles with very short screen time – didn’t sign on for the money. He added: “The actors were there for almost nothing. They just wanted to do the film.”

Claire Danes plays the childhood version of Vanessa Redgrave during her golden two days with the suave, charismatic Patrick Wilson. Koltai added: “Claire plays a very straight, complicated and believable character. She’s not at all sideways. There are lots of secrets inside Claire. You just have to open them up. She was a big surprise for me.”

She’s forced to unnaturally keep a stiff upper lip.

“My character is having defining experiences and starting to make life choices. It’s always exciting to play somebody undergoing a transformation. It’s a seminal weekend for Ann,” Danes said in the film’s production notes. “By the standards of the high-society world she is visiting, she is unconventional.

Mamie Gummer in “Evening”
Photo courtesy of Gene Page
“She is very idealistic and ambitious. She is negotiating her desires to be independent and her desires to have a family. She is drawn to motherhood but also to performing.” She added: “The film considers the question: ‘What makes a life?’ We are all human and searching [for that answer].”

On working with Koltai, Danes said: “Lajos is always there by the camera. He’s never off by a monitor. He created an absolutely secure environment for all of us to be as vulnerable and expressive as we needed to be.” Close added: “Lajos comes from a very rich tradition of Hungarian filmmakers. Many of them cut their teeth when there wasn’t a lot of film stock. They would have to edit more in their heads.”

With such a veteran cast, the Oscar conversation is expected. Koltai, who is a member of the academy, is hesitant to answer the question.

“Not one second did I think about the Oscars. You just have to make a movie,” he said. “I don’t want to name names. Though an Oscar would have to be given to one person, I think of Vanessa and Claire like one body. If [the academy does consider this film], I think it should for the whole ensemble.”