78
Metascore
33 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinNew York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinAbove all is Langella, achingly vulnerable under layers of flesh. In one scene, alone, he eats peanut butter intensely, thoughtfully, and nothing he could do as Hamlet would seem deeper or more poetic.
- 100Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranIntelligent, involving and conspicuously adult, Starting Out in the Evening is almost shocking in its distinctiveness, its ability to create high drama from an unlikely source.
- 91Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanAndrew Wagner has made a lovely comedy of death and rebirth.
- 90The New York TimesA.O. ScottThe New York TimesA.O. ScottWhat is so remarkable about Mr. Langella is that he seems to hold Leonard’s intellectual cosmos inside him, to make it implicit in the man’s every gesture and pause.
- 80VarietyScott FoundasVarietyScott FoundasDirector Andrew Wagner draws topnotch work from a pro cast in Starting Out in the Evening, a wise, carefully observed chamber drama.
- 80Village VoiceVillage VoiceThis wise, observant, and exquisitely tacit chamber piece complicates every May-December, academic-novel cliché in the book.
- 75Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversLangella delivers a master class in acting. He's playing Leonard Schiller, an aging author aching from the loss of his wife, a weak heart and literary neglect.
- 75ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliIt's a gentle, unhurried drama about how people can connect with each other through conversation, nonverbal gestures, and writing.
- 63PremiereGlenn KennyPremiereGlenn KennyStarting Out never builds to the explosive climax it seems to be heading for, which I suppose is a good thing for its overall integrity, but maybe not so good for its motion-picture value.
- 63TV Guide MagazineKen FoxTV Guide MagazineKen FoxIntelligently acted but oddly stagnant adaptation of Brian Morton's acclaimed novel.