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Starting Out in the Evening
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Metascore
78 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 33 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 20 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Summary: All that remains for Leonard Schiller is his work. His one enduring goal in life is to finish the novel whose completion has eluded him for ten years. With his earlier books out of print, he has learned to starve himself of the desire for the success he was once so close to, though beneath this practice lies a pull for his work to be rediscovered. Schiller’s main contact to the world is through his daughter, Ariel, with whom he has settled into an amiable relationship, though he must hide his disappointment that at 39 she remains befuddled by life, still looking for love and a father for a longed-for child. Schiller’s world is shaken when Heather Wolfe, a smart, ambitious graduate student, convinces him that she can use her thesis on his work to bring him back into the literary world spotlight. (Roadside Attractions)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 33
  3. Negative: 0 out of 33
  1. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: James Greenberg
    100
    Succeeds so beautifully because of a compelling story, great acting, intelligent writing and sensitive direction.
  2. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    The movie is carefully modulated to draw us deeper and deeper into the situation, and uses no contrived plot devices to superimpose plot jolts on what is, after all, a story involving four civilized people who are only trying, each in a different way, to find happiness.
  3. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    50
    Wallows in bleakness and settles for sentimental gestures.

See all 33 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 10
  3. Negative: 2 out of 10
  1. HarryL.
    10
    Jane S., I've been waiting years to say this but "Jane, you ignorant slut" you have no idea what the difference is between romance, sex and attraction. This was a marvelous work where, by the way, English and English majors, are treated with dignity, integrity and respect.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. Joan
    10
    If Frank Langella isn't nominated for an Oscar for his performance in this film, then no one should be nominated. A beautifully cast and directed film...full of "real" NYC location shots and a sensitively portrayed character study of relationships. I loved it.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. MasonP.
    1
    Awful, awful movie. Bad writing, bad editing, bad score, bad casting (at least in the female roles). The characters (other than Frank Langella) simply aren't believable as literary intellectuals--especially Lauren Ambrose. The writing certainly doesn't help. The same awkward scenes played over and over--reminded me of an episode of General Hospital (with a young, handsome doctor replaced by a 70 year-old writer) on repeat.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 10 User Reviews

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