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Movies / In Cinemas / That Evening Sun
That Evening Sun

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That Evening Sun (2009)

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Reviews Counted:18

Fresh:13

Rotten:5

Average Rating:6.6/10

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: An aging farmer fights to keep the home that is rightfully his after fleeing from a nursing home and discovering that his son has leased the family farm to his old nemesis. Placed in a nursing home... An aging farmer fights to keep the home that is rightfully his after fleeing from a nursing home and discovering that his son has leased the family farm to his old nemesis. Placed in a nursing home by his son and promptly forgotten, Abner Meecham (Hal Holbrook) realized that waiting to die was no way to live. Determined to enjoy his last days, Abner packed his bags and set his sights on the family farm. At least there he could die on his own land, in familiar surroundings. But Abner is in for a rude awakening, because upon returning home he discovers that his son has leased the farm to Lorenzo Choat. Abner never cared much for Lorenzo, and when Lorenzo refuses to leave Abner takes up residence in an old tenant shack on the property. Before long, their dispute becomes volatile, each man believing himself to be in the right, and refusing to back down from their position. Betrayed by his son and haunted by dreams of his beloved, deceased wife, Abner draws a line in the sand in an attempt to reclaim his life. As threats are made and tension begins to brew, it's only a matter of time before the situation turns savage. [More]

Starring: Hal Holbrook, Ray McKinnon, Walton Goggins, Mia Wasikowska

Starring: Hal Holbrook, Ray McKinnon, Walton Goggins, Mia Wasikowska, Carrie Preston

Director: Scott Teems

Director: Scott Teems
Screenwriter: Scott Teems
Producer: Terence Berry, Walton Goggins, Ray McKinnon, Laura Smith
Composer: Michael Penn
Studio: Dogwood Films

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Reviews for That Evening Sun

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1 - 18 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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The 84 year old Hal Holbrook shows how it is done in this Oscar worthy tour-de-force performance.

Full Review Source: Back Stage | comment Comment
11/21/09
Pete Hammond
Pete Hammond
Back Stage

Holbrook is great as usual...Well-adapted from a William Gay short story by writer-director Scott Teems.

Full Review Source: Movie Dearest | comment Comment
11/20/09
Fr. Chris Carpenter
Fr. Chris Carpenter
Movie Dearest

Though the movie is filled with complex emotions and a powerful poignancy, it often manages to be darkly funny, thanks to Holbrook's wily, unsentimental portrayal under Teems' smartly calibrated hand.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
11/20/09
Gary Goldstein
Gary Goldstein
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[Holbrook is] wonderful.

Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment Comment
11/16/09
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
At the Movies

Holbrook is a terrific actor, and it’s nice to see him in a leading role, but this is still a movie you can skip.

Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment Comment
11/16/09
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
At the Movies

Hal Holbrook, 84, has always been one of the few great American actors giving those British thespians addressed as "Sir" a run for their knighthood. Now in a tiny little indie, he throws off yet another bravura performance.

Full Review Source: CultureCatch | comment Comment
11/12/09
Brandon Judell
Brandon Judell
CultureCatch

The plot is good but it is the acting that is outstanding. Hal Holbrook shines!

Full Review Source: jackiekcooper.com | comment Comment
11/10/09
Jackie K. Cooper
Jackie K. Cooper
jackiekcooper.com

a very specific film in that it is about a particular human being in a particular place at a particular moment in time ... It is not about the struggle between good and evil, but about how hard it is to live as a decent person in the world.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
11/07/09
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Director Scott Teems' film is as quiet as untilled soil -- not always a good thing -- but Holbrook has a handle on where to dig.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
11/06/09
Joe Neumaier
Joe Neumaier
New York Daily News

Holbrook shines in a rare film-starring role as Abner Meechum, roughly a Southern version of the character Clint Eastwood played in Gran Torino.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
11/06/09
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post

An intense and powerful portrait of a stubborn 80-year-old man who is struggling with letting go of his attachment to an idea and to a place he loves

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
11/06/09
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Confounds expectations and discomfits the audience by reversing the strategy of 'Gran Torino,' with Holbrook's proud, cantankerous old-timer becoming less worthy of the audience's early investment of loyalty and trust as the story progresses...

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
11/06/09
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

Hal Holbrook shines in this leisurely paced drama about a stubborn octogenarian.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
11/06/09
Frank Scheck
Frank Scheck
Hollywood Reporter
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Holbrook’s fierce, contained performance matches in depth and truthfulness his portrayal of a weary Army retiree who briefly becomes a surrogate father to Emile Hirsch’s survivalist in Into the Wild.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
11/06/09
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Hal Holbrook was born to play sly, cantankerous rascals.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
11/04/09
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly

The entire exercise feels thin and reedy, trading in geriatric sentiment instead of hard-forged emotion.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
11/04/09
Stephen Garrett
Stephen Garrett
Time Out New York

Holbrook is as unsentimental as Abner himself, and the beauty of his work here lies in his refusal to soften the character's hard edges. Regrettably, Teems's editorial choices in the film's homestretch waste that discipline.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
11/03/09
Chuck Wilson
Chuck Wilson
Village Voice

Complex and fulfilling...a beautifully etched slice of a life that's always compelling.

Full Review Source: Hollywood & Fine | comment Comment
11/03/09
Marshall Fine
Marshall Fine
Hollywood & Fine
 
 
1 - 18 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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