Starting Out in the Evening

The idea of Langella as a neglected, decrepit artist is poignant, as is the idea of Ambrose using an academic study as an excuse to get closer to a writer whose work she's always loved.

The Langella performance deserves an Oscar nomination.

It’s an unusual, vaguely intellectual premise for a film, lacing emotional ambitions and betrayals through a literary framework.

...Langella delivers a master class in acting. He's playing Leonard Schiller, an aging author aching from the loss of his wife, a weak heart and literary neglect.

It's intelligent, quiet, moody and gentle, the kind of movie that winds up in theaters about three times a year...