Evening

Released: 2007
Drama
Director: Lajos Koltai
Starring: Vanessa Redgrave, Toni Collette, Claire Danes, Patrick Wilson
Running Time: 117 minutes
Rated: PG-13

The breakdown:  Two daughters struggle with the impending death of their mother while she drifts in and out of consciousness remembering her one true love.

I've never heard of this movie so I had no expectations.  I guess it's based on a book written by Susan Minot of the same name but it varies from that plot.

Here we learn of an elderly woman named Ann who is on her deathbed, presumably from Cancer.  Her two daughters are there at home with her as is her nurse overnight.  She struggles to tell them things from her past that they've never learned of before through her drug induced daze.

The movie flits back and forth between her dying confessions and her memories of 50 years prior when she was a young woman in love with a man who she just met.  Harris is a doctor and she meets him while attending her best friend, Lila's wedding.  Ann and Lila have been friends for a long long time and Lila has a brother who's had a crush on Ann but never told her.  Lila has a crush on Harris but Harris has never felt anything but friendship for Lila.  It's all a bit confusing on paper, but trust me, if you watch the movie, it all makes sense.

Without any expectations, I thought it was a good solid movie, though, a bit slow at times.  Overall, I liked it, but it is a downer, so you have to be in the mood for a deathly serious sad romantic movie.
It's a heavy one, but good.

I give it 3 and 1/2 for solid acting from everyone with a good cast and a clear plot.  The only complaint is the subject matter, it's certainly not a feel good chick flick kinda' movie.  Still very good, but very sad.