Starting Out in the Evening

Capturing the life of a writer on film is no easy task, but director Andrew Wagner, in his adaptation of Brian Morton’s novel, has managed to do it with intelligence. His protagonist, Leonard Schiller (played superbly by Frank Langella), pecks away at a typewriter in a quiet office in his New York apartment, hoping to finish a fifth novel. His routine is interrupted by Heather Wolfe (Lauren Ambrose), a brash young graduate student obsessed with Schiller’s brilliant, earlier work. Her hope is to write a dissertation, re-fueling his reputation—and perhaps getting closer to her literary idol in the process. At first, Schiller resists, then slowly succumbs, as the two talk literature and she slowly insinuates herself into his life. Meanwhile, Schiller’s fortysomething daughter Ariel (Lily Taylor) grapples with her own unhappiness and relationships. The result is a subtle, graceful and well-acted film about developing ideas and relationships.

Shelf Talk: Starting Out in the Evening received favorable reviews in many national publications and was nominated for a bunch of awards (including the Grand Jury award at the Sundance Film Festival and an acting nod for Langella at the Independent Spirit Awards), so it brings some cred to the new release shelf. Literary types and fans of the novel will be drawn to it naturally, but to reach a wider audience, it would be wise to play up these nominations as well as the recognizable cast.