Movie Summary of That Evening Sun by Michael the Moviegoer
THAT EVENING SUN = **1/2
“Grumpy Old Man”
After a lifetime of character roles, the face and voice of Hal Holbrook is known by many. From movies like “Capricorn One” to “All The President’s Men” where he was the voice of Deep Throat, Hal Holbrook might be the most famous actor in Hollywood who is not a household name. He finally received his first Oscar nomination in 2007 for his marvelous supporting role in “Into The Wild”. Perhaps that recognition is what led to his first lead performance in “That Evening Sun”.
Holbrook carries this film as a grumpy old man who escapes from the nursing home his son put him in and travels back to his farm only to find that his son has rented it to another family. But Holbrook moves into a shack behind the house and is determined to drive this family out of the main house so that he can move back in. One would like to think that Oscar nomination might have given Holbrook access to better projects than this.
Based on William Gay’s short story “I Hate To See That Evening Sun Go Down”, director Scott Teems sure knows how to make a short story longer. This film moves at a snail’s pace that makes “The Bridges Of Madison County” feel like a walk in “Jurassic Park”. Lots of long shots of fields and overgrown weeds.
Holbrook’s performance is quite masterful. It’s the only thing of interest in this otherwise dull picture.
DVD Double Feature: Michael Penn composed the music for “That Evening Sun”. His brother Sean Penn directed Holbrook to an Oscar nomination in 2007’s “Into The Wild”. Holbrook’s brief but pivotal part really brings that movie to life. Maybe he should stick to the smaller roles (unless he gets better scripts).
Michael The Moviegoer
