Evening Review
	When I discovered that Michael Cunningham was writing a script, I was thrilled.  I was a fan of his writing with A Home At The End Of The World, Specimen Days and especially The Hours, one of my favourite books of all, and it was something to look forward to coming to a theatre.  When I watched the first trailer a few months ago, I discovered the phenomenal cast that had been assembled and I knew I would have to make the time to see this film.  I did tonight and I was not disappointed.
		The film revolves around Ann Lord (nee Grant) who is living her final days with her daughters.  She is not coherent most of the time and many things surface in her speech, things relating to her past as a young woman.  The film goes back and forth in time mostly between the time with her children and the time that her friend Lila was getting married and we are transported to the sunny coast beach house where memories are starting be created.
			LajosKoltai, in his English film directing debut, creates sumptuous images.  The film is beautifully shot and one can?t be caught by the gorgeous home that Ann lives in now or the beach house.  He connects the actors together with ease and seems to find beauty in all his characters.  It is not hard however when one considers the actresses that he manages to put together with Glenn Close, MerylStreep, Vanessa Redgrave, Natasha Richardson and Toni Collette.  However the true gem of the movie is Claire Danes who plays a younger Ann, filled with energy and rebellious nature, hope wrapped around the hopeless nature of her friends.  A true surprise is her sweet singing voice used here, something I have never heard, and it was gorgeous to see briefly Patrick Wilson join her for one.  This part was meant for her and hopefully it?s a wakeup call that she is ready for more challenging parts.
			Of course it helps that the story is so well told.  Cunningham creates a beautiful tapestry of women who expand the realm of femininity.  He makes them seem real with real problems and yet creates a poetry out of their dialogue that does not seem forced or contrived.  The story becomes one where the women all have to make choices for their own happiness and decide what the true meaning of what it means to be happy.  They make mistakes, but sometimes mistakes are not bad things at all.
				Some parts of the film move too quickly such as the jumps back and forth in time near the beginning, but soon the pacing finds itself.  Glenn Close and MerylStreep don?t get much opportunity in this film which was disappointing (billed as a film together with no scenes together), but these are small squabbles on a very moving film.  This might be Cunningham?s first original screenplay (though based on another book), but it makes me wonder where he will go next.  Wherever it is, I will be seeing it.