Starting Out in the Evening
User Score
7.9 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 21 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 21
  3. Negative: 2 out of 21

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  1. MasonP.
    Dec 24, 2007
    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
  2. JaneS.
    Dec 15, 2007
    0
    I saw this because Ebert said it was for anyone who loved writing and literature. i didn't sign up to see a 25 year old Alice in wonderland kid have sex with a 65 year old dotard. disgusting from a young woman's point of view if you ask me. i nearly died. Ii hated this film, and it doesn't portray English majors favorably at all, or writers for that matter.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
78 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 33 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 33
  3. Negative: 0 out of 33
  1. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Jessica Reaves
    75
    Because the characters are richly realized and their dialogue rings true, we stick around, rooting for something like a happy ending.
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  2. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: William Arnold
    75
    If the film has a weakness, it's an ending that's so vague and open to interpretation that it's not at all clear how director Andrew Wagner ultimately wants us to feel about these self-absorbed characters and their precious literary concerns. But the performances carry the day.
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  3. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    70
    Part of Morton's achievement is to present all four people through the viewpoints of the other three; Wagner can't do that, but the performances are so nuanced that the characters remain multilayered, and they're not the sort of people we're accustomed to finding in commercial films.
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