Full of excellent dialogue and characters that immediately catch your attention, Starting Out in the Evening begins quite well but then drifts toward an ending that is altogether unsatisfying. Frank Langella is a literary lion working on his last book when a young graduate student invades his space and proceeds to turn his life upside down, sort of. Sadly, the expected epiphany or denouement never arrives and it bugs because the movie as a whole is so finely acted and constructed.
The best thing I got out of the whole experience was newfound respect for Lauren Ambrose of Six Feet Under fame. She shows another side of her acting ability and really glows in her role as the beautiful graduate student. Hopefully this will springboard her into bigger (but not necessarily better) roles.
