The TV Addict 

STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING
I’ve always had a soft-spot for films about writers, even if few ever really portray a writer character who is truly literate, artistic, and intelligent, capable of talking about his craft in a way a real writer would. Usually if you find a writer in a film, it’s really some auxiliary element to a character, rather than a driving force in the narrative. STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING is a film about a writer, but also a film about the complexities of life that often inspire writers to bring experience to paper. It’s a highly literate script, no surprise given that it’s based on a PEN/Faulkner Award nominated novel. Sometimes that can be a detriment. The film is very dramatic – for lack of a better word, and yet in the truest sense of the word – and very artistically ambitions, not unlike a stage play. Problem is sometimes it can get too “artistic” for its own good, as there are several moments in the film where characters do things that feel motivated solely by artistic construction, rather than realistic behavior, and just come off as strange and bizarre, especially the relationship between Frank Langella and Lauren Ambrose’s character which makes you marvel at how VENUS succeeded in avoiding such creepiness. The film is pretty heavy, and certainly not light viewing, but it’s a solid exploration of art, what inspires art, and just basic human drama, specifically what cajoles stagnant lives out of their resignation. It’s especially complimented with a reliable performance from Lili Taylor and Lauren Ambrose, but most of all the astounding – and quite beautiful – understated performance from Frank Langella who was robbed of an Academy Award nomination.

Overall rating: B+

RESURRECTING THE CHAMP
Strangely enough, this is the second film to come out this week on DVD featuring a writer, this time a sport journalist, played by Josh Hartnett. Now, as a disclaimer, I don’t think Hartnett is a good actor, and his perpetual squinty glare makes me think that if he and Renee Zellweger ever got together and had babies, things wouldn’t turn out so well. That being said, Hartnett gives a surprisingly solid performance here as a sports journalists who believes he’s found his Pulitzer winning story about a former near-boxing champion (Samuel L. Jackson) who ends up homeless, and is dismayed when all doesn’t go according to plan. Though the DVD cover may not make the film look enticing (it doesn’t help that Jackson appears to be reprising his hairstyle from THE CAVEMAN’S VALENTINE), it actually proves to be a pretty solid journalism drama about the cost of ambition, family, and the nature of truth.

Overall rating: B