That Evening Sun (2009) User Reviews

Sordid Southern Scorcher.....Yee-haw!

[cheryllynecox-1 · 8/10 · 10 April 2010]

There is a lot to recommend Scott Teems "That Evening Sun", and I'm happy I was able to catch a recent screening as a premier event of the Tallahassee Film Festival. Kindly indulge my regional preference for literature and the performing arts, but you really can't beat the local color of the rural South. This melancholy narrative is driven by simmering grudges,ill-gotten gains, and combustible relationships. It's as though William Faulker and Flannery O'Connor collaborated on Teem's script with its southern Gothic allusions and ironic events.

Hal Holbrook as the title character, Abner Meecham, is brilliant with his tenacious attitude, and wizened expressions. He may be old, but he's still capable, resourceful, and completely self-absorbed. Dream sequences and memories allow us to see his softer side as he relives tender moments with his late wife (played by the bewitching Dixie Carter, his real-life wife). He receives little support from his son, a busy attorney well-played by Walton Goggins. Their mutual disaffection is palpable and practically Shakespearean. Abner is not easy to love.

Abner's primary nemesis, Lonzo Choat, is a surly ne'er-do-well who relies as much on his monthly disability check as he does on cheap beer. Ray McKinnon gets a lot of mileage out of Choat's brutal nature and proprietary relationships. His rustic wife (Carrie Preston) and daughter (Mia Wasikowska) each exhibit individual strengths, but can't overcome the overarching power of Lonzo Choat.

Barry Corbin also lends a powerful performance as Abner's long-time neighbor and fellow octogenarian, Thurl Chessor. Abner and Thurl have known each other long enough that conversation is perfunctory, but comfortable. Neither wastes words nor breath, they are comfortable passing time without much fuss or muss, but not too much time lest they seem too dependent, too feminine.

"That Evening Sun" is beautifully shot capturing the simple bucolic beauty of rural Tennessee as kudzu slowly reclaims abandoned barns, and landscapes buzz with the heat and activity of hidden hives and birdsong. The soundtrack is a nod to depression-era country crooners, and Jimmie Rodgers adds the ideal poetic punctuation with his yearning yodels. I will see this one again.

Much beneath the surface

[toxiemite · 7/10 · 19 October 2010]

This movie came from nowhere for me here in Australa. Its a little middle-American indie film that I had never heard of until I saw it advertised on my upcoming orders list. I just finished watching it and it is a fantastic character study. It stars Hal Holbrook in one of the finest performances in his long and successful career. He plays an old man who walks out of his nursing-home and returns to the farm he owned for over 50 years only to find it occupied by new tenants. Being stubborn he squats in the old worker's quarters and wages a personal war against the new family. From there the film becomes a real examination of this old man's mind. He is at the narrow end of life and has nothing to show for it. Everything he knew was taken away and he is doomed to live the rest of his life with regret about many things in his life. Unbeknownst to him, much of his traits are reflected in his newly appointed enemy. Its a slow drama with moments of tension. The performances are exceptional and the relationship he has with his old neighbour is wonderful (some of the best scenes). Well worth a look.

Holbrook's lovable curmudgeon trumps implausibility of film's antagonists

[Turfseer · 6/10 · 16 February 2010]

2009 seems to be the year of the cantankerous curmudgeon as far as the movies are concerned. With Clint Eastwood's 'Gran Torino', Pixar's 'Up' and now first-time writer-director Scott Teem's 'That Evening Sun', the focus is on the octogenarian who refuses to be put 'out to pasture' and take 'one last fling' at life; to prove at the very least that even elderly people have some dignity in spite of the indifference of an uncaring, younger generation.

Hal Holbrook lands the the plum part of Abner Meechum, the 80 year old country boy who flees the nursing home where he's been living for the past few months. It seems that his well-intentioned son Paul, a successful lawyer, convinced him to check in at the home after breaking his hip in a fall back at the family farm. Even Abner acknowledges that he would have died had his neighbor not checked in on him after the accident.

But Abner still has some spunk left (unlike the tired and complacent denizens of the nursing home) and manages to make his way back to the family farm (aided by a sympathetic cab driver, initially hired by the nursing home to bring the curmudgeon back). When Abner does arrive home, he's shocked to learn that local ne'er-do-well Lonzo Choat, along with his wife and teenage daughter are living in his house and have a rent with an option to buy agreement with son Paul. Abner has known Choat for years and always regarded him as 'white trash'; we soon learn that Abner's evaluation of Choat is correct: he's been living on disability for years, is now broke and is an alcoholic to boot.

Abner decides to move in to the sharecropper shack on the property. He adopts a dog from kindly neighbor Thurl which infuriates Choat, who can't stand the dog's continuous barking. The conflict escalates when Choat begins whipping his daughter Pamela's date after they have returned from a late night foray; the date manages to escape by driving off the farm in a car and Choat turns his wrath on his wife and daughter, whipping them with the garden hose until Abner puts an end to it by firing a shot in the air. Choat is further infuriated after Abner reports the incident to the local sheriff's office. Although Choat is brought in for questioning, he's ultimately released; it's obvious that the wife and daughter end up refusing to press charges.

While there's tons of sympathy for feisty Abner, ultimately we're asked to view him as a victim. On the other hand, Choat is a despicable character—someone who beats his womenfolk and even stoops to killing Abner's dog as payback for being turned into the police. Paul victimizes poor Abner further by assuming that his father is nuts, disbelieving his claims that Choat was guilty of domestic violence (Paul has a deep chip on his shoulder—blaming his father for most of his problems and claiming that he also mistreated his now-deceased mother). This supposedly explains why he's not interested in taking any of his father's accusations seriously (you would think that a normal person would be curious as to why Abner has brought his pet to a taxidermist and had it stuffed, but Paul simply blurts out, "we're not going to go there"). Poor Abner—he's become a symbol of another 'marginalized' minority group—this time, the elderly!

Another perplexing issue is Paul's willingness to rent the house to the Choats in the first place. Is he totally ignorant of the Choats' reputation in the community? Or does he hate his father so much that he totally rejects his father's opinion about them and willing to give Lonzo a break? Certainly the Choats have a 'history' in the community and Paul cannot be unaware of that. Why rent a house with someone who's on disability who can't really afford it? We never find out why Paul is so altruistic toward Lonzo; certainly he's made no inquiries as to Lonzo's true financial status (and this is a lawyer who's renting the house?). Paul could have made a few inquiries as to Lonzo's character, independent of his father's accusations (Why not talk to the family of Pamela's date?—he could have then ascertained that his father was telling the truth about Lonzo). Like Lonzo, Paul is simply not a well-developed enough character.

Despite the imbalance in the narrative between the protagonist and antagonist, Holbrook holds his own amongst the great curmudgeons 'of our day'. It's a nuanced performance that mixes pathos with humor and occasionally offers some real surprises (I was truly thrown for a loop after seeing how Abner responds once Choat kills his pet). Mia Wasikowska is equally fine as the low-key teenager who has poor timing in trying to bond with Abner as she walks in on him at the very moment he's about to kill himself.

Choat does save Abner's life but it isn't enough for us to change our minds about him. The ending to 'That Evening Sun' is ambiguous. Does Abner die at the end and meet his wife in heaven? Or does he recover from the burns he suffered in the fire and pay one last visit to the farm?—only to head out to the assisted living facility, suggested by his son. And what of the Choats? Does the son allow them to remain or are they history since they're broke and can't pay the rent?

'That Evening Sun' has received a substantial number of positive accolades. Are they justified? If you look at the plot, in which the deck is stacked in favor of the protagonist—with the antagonists receiving short shrift, then I would be inclined to disagree with all the favorable reviews. But if you focus on Hal Holbrook's character and his performance, then I can understand why the film has garnered such a positive response.

" If ever I learned a lesson of life, it's something that was worthwhile "

[thinker1691 · 6/10 · 28 March 2011]

Scott Teems wrote and directed this touching movie called " That Evening Sun. " It's tells the story of an aging Tennessee farmer, Abner Meecham (Hal Holbrook) who was accidentally injured at home and put into a convalescent home. Unfortunately for him, Abner awoke to learn his son Paul (Walton Groggins) had committed him to this home for the duration of his life. Refusing to stay, he returns to his farm where Meecham discovers his family farm has been leased out to an old adversary Lonzo Choat (Ray McKinnon) who tries to drive him off the disputed farm. Because of the law, the two now face an unresolved issue which is complicated by the alcoholic owner and his frightened family. The story is dramatically poignant and with the characters including the dog, bonding closely, becomes sentimentally lasting. Barry Corbin plays next door neighbor Thurl Chessor and becomes a credit to the overall story. ***

Beautifully measured performance by the great Hal Holbrooke

[Buddy-51 · 28 July 2011]

Based on the short story "I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down" by William Gay, "That Evening Sun" presents us with an epic battle of wills between two equally immutable forces fighting over the same piece of land. The property in question is a rundown farm in rural Tennessee owned by Abner Meecham (Hal Holbrooke), an octogenarian who's just walked away from the retirement home his son (Walter Goggins) placed him in after a serious fall a few months back. When Abner gets back to his farm, he is stunned to find that - thanks to a deal brokered by his lawyer son – the place has been signed over to a white-trash, ne'er-do-well by the name of Lonzo Choat (Ray McKinnon), who now lives there with his wife (Carrie Preston) and sixteen-year-old daughter (Mia Wasikowska), with whom Abner establishes an uneasy but generally tender relationship.

Scott Teem's screenplay is multi-faceted and complex in the way it develops its characters. For instance, many of the very same qualities that make Abner so appealing to the audience – his tenacity, his commitment to principle, his uncompromising willingness to call things as he sees them – are also what make him a hard person to deal with for those who are actually a part of his life. This is especially the case with his son, who though he obviously loves his father and wants to do right by him, harbors a lifelong resentment against the old man for his harsh treatment of both himself and his now-deceased mother while he was growing up.

To a somewhat lesser extent, Lonzo is also portrayed in a three-dimensional light. Though he is an alcoholic, a wastrel, and a man prone to acts of violence against both animals and members of his own family, there is a sense that he is genuinely trying to get his life together by earning an honest living and finally being a decent provider for his loved ones.

The movie really seems to understand the tragedy of old age – of feeling as if everything you ever called your own is now being taken away from you and nobody around you seems to care. In fact, many of those people – despite, in some cases, their possible good intentions - are proactively involved in bringing that outcome about. The movie also touches upon that root and highly American value of property ownership, and the willingness to stop at virtually nothing to ensure one's hold on one's land.

"That Evening Sun" is what is called in the trade an "actors' picture," and, indeed, it is the performances that are of primary interest here. Holbrooke has always been a tremendous actor, but here he is positively transcendent as Abner, a crusty old coot who is so much more than just a crusty old coot. Goggins, the brilliant star of "The Shield" and "Justified" and a co-producer of this film, is also excellent as Paul Meecham, a role quite different from the ones in the aforementioned works. And McKinnon, Preston ("True Blood"), and Wasikowska ("Alice in Wonderland," "The Kids are All Right") are all wonderful as well.

The tone of the film is contemplative and muted, and Teems' direction is rich in atmosphere and setting.

an old man fighting his demons? An alternative point of view

[kmylwnas · 7/10 · 6 May 2011]

Nice movie, the old man is a likable character, still is a 'not very nice' person. It seems he was not really nice to his family either. The name of the guy he is trying to throw away from his home is Choat, kind of reminds me of the word "Tchort" that means Devil in Slavic languages: "Tchort is a Slavonic word (Russian Чёрт, Czech and Slovak Čert, Ukrainian and Belarusian Чорт) meaning Devil" Source:wikipedia Made me wonder if its allegoric and the man was trying to overcome and win his demons instead. Imagine the home being empty and not finding the courage to go inside, that overflowning home of memories of his wife... Finally he overcame his guilts and found peace. Just another point of view, food for thought ;)

Solid Performance by Holbrook, Intelligent and Absorbing Story

[bob-790-196018 · 6/10 · 25 March 2011]

Early in the film, when young Pamela Choat first tries being friendly to crusty old Abner Meecham, I said to my wife, "This better not end all warm and fuzzy." Well it didn't. It was a film of nuances and complexities. When we first meet Abner's lawyer son Paul, a hyper-busy lawyer who had "persuaded" Abner to go into the old folks' home, I said, "Why are lawyers always portrayed as bad guys?" But toward the end, as Paul finds himself dealing with yet another crisis in his dad's life, brought on by Abner himself, my wife said, "That poor guy"--meaning Paul.

Similarly, Lonzo Choat, a scuzzy son of a bitch who rents Abner's old property and resents Abner's return after escaping from the old folks' home, clearly is a low life. He beats his wife and daughter, lives off disability payments that he no longer deserves, is lazy and a drinker, and eventually hangs Abner's dog out of spite. Yet at least we get some understanding of him, and in the end, like it or not, he is forced to save Abner from the shack that he (Abner) has set afire.

Abner is more than just a curmudgeon. Don't look here for a crusty old guy who really has a heart of gold. We learn just enough to know that he was mean to his wife and son, and increasingly Abner himself dreams of his dead wife in the act of forgiving him. We learn that his wife died after he left her behind in the house out of spite, because she was taking so much time choosing a dress.

Yet Abner is hard to dislike in many ways. He is resourceful, proud, self-reliant. A complicated man.

Hal Holbrook is wonderful in his portrayal of Abner. His performance, along with a very strong screenplay, has given us a really interesting and intelligent drama for adults.

An Instant Southern Classic

[FatMan-QaTFM · 10/10 · 20 April 2009]

I had the privilege of seeing That Evening Sun last night at the Atlanta Film Festival. Scott Teems, Terrence Berry, Laura Smith, Ray McKinnon, Walton Goggins, and Larsen Jay were all in attendance and conducted an excellent Q&A afterwords.

There's so much to this film, so I'll start with the acting and go from there. The movie was so perfectly cast, from Hal Holbrook to Ray McKinnon all the way down to Barlow Jacobs the cab driver - they all were so authentic and believable. There was a lot of very good dialog, but I felt in the moments of quiet grief, contemplation, and observation there was so much more said about the characters.

The story itself was very simple - it had no effect on the world outside of the few characters involved - but again it made the whole situation believable and really struck home with a lot of audience members. The movie is very smart - it doesn't hit you over the head with actors stating "I feel remorse, I feel sad, I feel angry." You get to watch their actions in the present reveal their character and past.

Location was perfectly southern, shot just outside of Knoxville on an old farm, complete with the tenant house seen (although the Q&A explained the actual tenant house was disassembled and rebuilt closer to the main house). There is something about truly southern movies that have a feel like no other with a landscape and sound you can't find in Canada, New Zealand, or LA.

The music, done by Michael Penn and the Drive-By Truckers, completed the whole picture with a quiet southern flavor. Scott Teems explained in the Q&A that he wanted a lot of quiet time for the audience to absorb the story and the location. The music was present, but didn't drive scenes.

All in all, this is one of the best independent films I've seen in recent years, and is instantly one of my favorite films of all time. Please go see this film, you will not regret the time spent!

Hal Holbrook is a treasure. So is this film.

[RickStarr11 · 9/10 · 23 January 2010]

I've been looking forward to "That Evening Sun" for a while now, and not just because it was shot in the county and surrounding towns where I live here in Tennessee.

My anticipation was largely because of Hal Holbrook, an iconic performer I have seen in his one-man "Mark Twain Tonight!" stage show, and who appears in occasional guest shots on TV where things must move very fast, and less often in film, where things are allowed to proceed at a more measured pace.

I was not disappointed, the character study of Abner Meechum, the refugee from an old folks' home and renegade on his own property is rich, complex, and satisfying throughout. Admittedly it may not be a big stretch for Holbrook to play a cranky 80-year-old, but that doesn't lessen the impact of the performance at all.

Surrounding him is a cast of surprisingly strong players: the antagonist Lonzo Choat (Ray McKinnon) is an especially worthy and believable opponent, and supporting cast Pamela and Ludie Choat (Mia Wasikowska and Carrie Preston) likewise hit just the right notes, tugging this farm county family drama at precisely the right pace. I especially enjoyed Barry Corkin, perfect in the Wilfred Brimley-esquire good neighbor role, and a special mention for the cameo by Dixie Carter, Hal Holbrook's wife in the movie as well as in real life.

Where I saw the film, at a packed 1pm matinée, the audience laughed at several of the moments, self-reflective as they were of Tennessee rural life. I don't know that they would garner that kind of introspective appreciation in other parts of the country, but here, people know their country folk and can laugh with, rather than at them.

"That Evening Sun" is a simple yarn: Abner tires of life in a retirement home and returns to the farm he and his deceased wife occupied for most of their lives, only to find it occupied by a neer-do-well, but one with a property lease Abner's "guardian son" has approved. The story is more than the tug-of-war between owner and lessor, it is between hard-working- older and layabout younger, and between lives at noon and the sundown that inevitably follows. Taken from William Gay's short stories of Southern life, "I Hate To See That Evening Sun Go Down," it's the unraveling of a proud man in the twilight, as his own sun is setting, and his fight with the oncoming night.

Hal Holbrook is a treasure. So is this film. It's Indie with a capital "I", an armful of festival awards, and, one hopes, a long run ahead.

Tales Of The New/Old South

[druid333-2 · 9/10 · 7 February 2010]

Abner Meecham,who has been living in a nursing home,is unhappy & wants to live out his final days on the farm land where he had made his living for over 50 years. One day,he packs his things & just walks away from it all. Despite a first failure (where he is picked up by the police & returned back to the home),Abner,undaunted tries again,this time getting further,with the help of a taxi cab driver,to his old farm land. Problem is,the land & the house are now leased by Lonzo Choat,who Abner doesn't like,one bit. Abner takes up in the workers quarters,just off the main house,much to the chagrin of Lonzo, who wants Abner off of his property,a.s.a.p. The following makes for a tense tale,that you know is going to end up badly. Scott Teem ('A Death In The Woods','Roots') directs & writes the screenplay,adapted from the novel, 'I Hate To See The Evening Sun Go Down',by William Gay (the title of which is taken from a line in an old country blues song by Jimmy Rogers). This is a quiet little independent film that in the wrong hands would have turned out to be just another Southern exploitation film (like the kind of films produced by Harry Novak that used to play drive in's back in the 1970's that stereotyped all of the citizens of the South as back woods,slack jawed,inbred,boozing,village idiots that would have sex with farm animals,or family members,or all of the above),but rises above that. The great Hal Holbrook (forever known for his portrayal of Mark Twain on stage & screen)plays Abner,a man who just wants what is rightly his. Ray McKinnon is Lonzo,a man who is just dripping with contempt for Abner. The rest of the cast (unknown by yours truly)turn in shining roles on screen. This is a quiet,little "indie" that drew acclaim at the festivals,but probably won't get much in the way of main steam distribution (I got to see it at one of our cinemas that specializes in foreign & art films),but deserves better. Rated PG-13 by the MPAA,it contains some raunchy language,an unpleasant scene of domestic abuse & some minor adult content.

Painful To Watch

[tjdercks · 1/10 · 22 August 2011]

Holbrooks acting was good ... but how this movie is rated higher than a 5 is beyond me?!?! This movie started out fine ... an old man does not like being in an old folks home, so he leaves and goes back to his farm. It turns out his son has rented it out, and never told him ... an interesting and believable start.

Then it just turns weird ... the old man belittles the current Renter for being white trash. The Renter lets the old man spend the night, but tells him he has to leave in the morning. The old man does not leave, but instead goes and gets a dog, because he knows the Renter hates dog.

The Renter does not immediately go to the police, or to his Landlord, to get this guy off the land he is legally renting ... but instead kills the dog? Maybe this is how tenant disputes are done in the South ... calling people White Trash and killing dogs ... but this makes no sense in my world.

Oh ... and the old man shoots at the Renter, and gets him arrested. Then the old man decides to frame the Renter for arson, by torching the guest house he was squatting in ... but the Renter is a low life, welfare stealing, wife beating, alcoholic ... so who cares. Right?

How is it the old man can trespass (for many days) ... shoot at a man, who is not threatening him ... break into the Renters home ... commit arson ... and in the end not be in jail?!?!

Based on the Awards it won, I guess this type of drama plays well in the South. I found myself screaming at the screen how unbelievable this whole story was ... and how is it the police keep showing up, but the old man is left to stay?

If you like movies about bitter, mean old men ... and delusional white trash idiots (he was going to be a farmer, but could barely mow the lawn; and had no money to buy the farm) ... that ends with everyone miserable ... then by all means, see this. I wish I turned it off after the first 20 minutes ... it is painful to watch!!!

Hal at his best

[MickyFin · 9/10 · 28 September 2010]

What a film.! Anyone who has experienced elderly members of the family being stubborn, or old fashioned without obvious reason, then this film will ring true.

Although members of our family/community age, and reach the final stages of their life does not make them an outcast, it does not make them less worthy of ourselves.

This film make the valid point that, yes, life does indeed go on, but at the same time, memories still live too, and if someone is still breathing the free air we all breath today, then they are still entitled to live out their life, and spend their living days how they see fit.

Without spoiling this film, or should I say without giving out any spoilers, basically, if you have come to that stage in your life where you have had to make the very difficult decision to put your mother, or father in a care home, watch this film.! Although your father, or mother maybe aging, and to you, look somewhat out of control, they are now, you should be listening to them more carefully, even muffled speech, of rambled they may sound, listen to them, memories live on.

This film is all about pride, being faithful to ones past, mistakes, and choices. One may make path to their own siblings which gives them the job of good fortune, but at the same time, they question you when your old, and in many peoples eyes "Past it". This film opens the eyes of the unforgiving.!

I cried watching this film, and Im 40 years young. Maybe I related to this film more than most, but at the same time, I had to write about this film, and how it impacted myself alone.

Enjoy, its a great piece of film making, and Hal, is at his best in this. We all remember him from his earlier pieces, usually in a courtroom.

Hal Holebrook's finest hour, and deservedly so.

[callanvass · 9/10 · 14 June 2011]

An aging Tennessee farmer returns to his homestead and must confront a family betrayal, the reappearance of an old enemy, and the loss of his farm.

This is the perfect example of how to write an old bull can against the young bull one. Holebrook's character doesn't want trouble, just his pride and the right to go on living the way he once did. He doesn't have much left, but pride. The movie does a great job of making us care for Holebrook, something that was hard to pull off consistently. Hal Holebrook is magnificent, and Oscar worthy here in his portrayal of Abner Meecham. It was hard to pull off, but Holebrook manages to maintain likability along with his grouchy, potentially off-putting role. There's never a moment where we don't sympathize with him, even when he pushes the limits, we manage to emphasize with his actions. I've not seen Holebrook perform a better role than this one. Ray McKinnon is excellent as the hot-shot antagonist, wanting to take over the farm. You'll hate him, and possibly even understand his actions in some cases. Walter Goggins is very good as the ungrateful son of Holebrook's, he did well.

Bottom line. The Sundance Film Festival struck gold with this one, and you will too. A must see

9 ½ 10

That Great Evening Sun

[dancoffey55 · 10/10 · 10 October 2009]

In my opinion column, On San Diego, I offered a brief positive review of That Evening Sun after viewing it at the San Diego Film Festival. Those published comments are offered below.

"That Evening Sun," starring Hal Holbrook, shown on Sunday night to a packed house as the last film of the 2009 San Diego Film Festival. Now in his 80s, Holbrook gives a tremendous and subtle performance, as do all of the other actors in this Southern Gothic set in Tennessee: Walton Goggins, Mia Wasikowska, Carrie Preston and Ray McKinnon. With a screenplay written by Scott Teems, like fine red wine, well made and maintained, every character of the movie is developed and complex -- even the barking dog!

The tension between characters, circumstances and passions makes this film a rarity, genuinely gripping from scene to scene and unpredictable to the end. The sound track is beautiful and delicately augments the emotional tension as the film wonderfully plays against the painterly rustic sharecropper house interior, forest, sunset sky and fantastically grizzled faces of authentically rendered people pursuing their respective deep, heartfelt aspirations. Like a Henry James novella, the film is underlain with ambiguity and uncertainty, empathy and shifting sympathies that will provoke conversation; one might pronounce it a good "date movie," with something for both men and women. A gem, this film is the kind one may only see at a film festival.

San Diegans were lucky to be among the first to see the final cut of this fine work. Fortunately, come Thanksgiving time, 2009, "That Evening Sun" will be seen in limited release in Los Angeles and New York theatres. Perchance it will also return to San Diego?

Rustic Snoozefest

[j-lacerra · 3/10 · 8 March 2011]

That Evening Sun begins as many geezer-escapes-from-nursing-home movies, with 80-year old Abner Meecham (Hal Holbrook) packing his bag and heading back to his old farm. Once there, he finds that his lawyer son has rented the place, inevitably, to a family he loathes and holds in low regard, the Choats. Even though the Choats have legal right to be there (a valid lease), Abner tries to run them off, and, failing that, he stays on in a worker's shack on the property to harass them. He does sort of befriend the teen Choat daughter, and actually saves her and her mother from a beating with a garden hose by papa Choat.

Holbrook is good, as always, but Abner is a nasty old cuss who seems to thrive on being mean. In the course of the movie, we learn that not only is Abner not entirely a good guy, but Choat is not entirely a bad guy.

The problems here are several: Abner is relentlessly mean and we cannot grow to like him, his scenes with teen Pamela Choat are few and brief and the relationship goes nowhere, Dixie Carter's appearances in flashbacks as Abner's dead wife afford her no lines, and Abner's employing a noisy dog to irritate Choat must end in the animals death. For some reason, viewers are more outraged by the death of a dog than by that of humans, and this scene is played directly to that idiosyncrasy.

The 'story' ends with Abner no better off than at the start, the Choats no better off - in other words it was all for naught. No resolution, no real story, irritating characters, missed opportunities, very bad ending. One to miss.

Does not go where you think it is going

[bandw · 8/10 · 20 November 2010]

This story of Abner Meecham, an 80-something man who walks out of his retirement home to return to his old farm, only to find other people living there, was to me more of a thriller than most movies tagged as that. The conflicts that develop between Meecham and the farm-dweller Choats (husband, wife, and teenage daughter) kept me in a state of tension throughout most of the movie.

You think that this is going to be a story about Abner, a lovable curmudgeon who fights the good fight to reclaim his property from the unlikable Lonzo Choat. But things don't quite go in that direction. For one thing Meecham's son Paul, a lawyer with power of attorney, has given the Choats a 90 day lease with an option to buy, so the Choats have legal right to be on the land. But Meecham is not about to let that stand. Choat and Meecham have many more shades of gray in their personalities than good versus bad. We see a dark side of Choat in a beating he deals his daughter with a garden hose (which is truly a horrible scene), but as he gently coils the hose for storage the next day we see regret and self loathing in his every movement. Meecham doesn't start the negotiations off well by calling Choat white trash and saying that he is a lazy good-for-nothing. But Choat's wife Ludie lands a pretty good blow on Meecham when she asks him if it doesn't get tired being such a bitter, lonely old man. The back-and-forth ever-escalating battle that embroils the Choats, Meecham, and Paul, exposes their personalities in a way that kept my interest.

I think the basic theme touched on is knowing when to give up. Is it realistic for Meecham to think he can resume his life alone on the farm? Does Choat really have a chance of making a go of it on the farm? Should Paul give in to his father's demands, or should Meecham listen to Paul's reasoned arguments? The film ultimately resolves these questions, but does not answer them.

The filming in rural Tennessee adds a touch of realism to the proceedings.

Holbrook, at age 84, continues to amaze. I can't think of any other actor his age who could pull this off--he is on screen for most of the scenes. I found the interview with him on the DVD well worth watching.

An elderly farmer fights to return to the farm he loves.

[nmhrestored · 8/10 · 22 May 2011]

Hal Holbrook (All the President's Men, Into the Wild) stars as octogenarian Abner Meecham, a widowed farmer who has been confined to a nursing home by his lawyer son (played by Walton Goggins). When Meecham becomes fed up with the dull, meaningless life among aging strangers, he returns to his farm, only to find that it has been rented to a man he despises: Lonzo Choat (Raymond McKinnon), a disreputable "white trash" resident of the town who has unrealistic dreams of buying the farm and starting a new life for his wife (Carrie Preston) and daughter (Mia Wasikowska). Choat refuses to vacate the farm, Meecham moves into the sharecroppers' shed, and a battle of wills ensues.

Holbrook's performance is mesmerizing – the audience drawn into his battle for the farm he built and tended for half a century, and despite the problems his age presents in managing the land, we want to know that he will succeed in achieving his goal of spending his last years at home. While other characters in the film see Meecham as stubborn, bitter, mean and just a little crazy, Holbrook's portrayal helps us see him as clever, wily and all-too-human as he not only battles for his independence but lives with age-old regrets.

Each of the films main characters demonstrate for the viewer what can happen when compromise and communication are eliminated as elements in achieving a solution. Meecham understandably wants to go home, but cannot acknowledge that there is physical risk and financial concern in such a move; Choat wants a new life, but cannot see that such a goal will require more determination and planning than he is able to achieve; and Paul has little sympathy for his father and is locked into a sensible, cost-efficient solution in tending to his aging parent. We watch and hope for cooperation to take place; we think of options that never present themselves, and we wonder if we could do better if faced with similar circumstances.

Director Scott Teems' ability to draw the viewer into this southern drama of wills (based on a short story by William Gay) is enhanced through detailed cinematography – close-up shots of elements of decay on the farm make us long for a solution that will reverse the deterioration; interior shots are musty – one can almost smell the dust and wood-rot of aging structures; scenes filmed at night capture the isolation of a farm where threats can be acted upon without witness; and daylight scenes are rich with color and lush greenery, making us crave the beauty serenity of life in the farmlands of Tennessee. Character portrayals are supremely convincing, and while we are prone to side with Meecham, we can also understand the struggles and desires of those others who hope to start over or do what is best under difficult circumstances.

The winner of more than 40 awards and massive critical acclaim, That Evening Sun is a treasure among independent films that will linger in the hearts and minds of viewing audiences long after the films' end.

great performances

[SnoopyStyle · 8/10 · 15 September 2016]

Grumpy old man Abner Meecham (Hal Holbrook) walks away from his retirement living. He returns to his Tennesse farm after 3 months to find Lonzo Choat (Ray McKinnon) occupying it. His son Paul (Walton Goggins) had rented it with an option to sell. Abner is unwilling to leave and starts living in the adjacent slave cabin. Lonzo is a drunk. He beats his daughter Pamela (Mia Wasikowska) and wife Ludie (Carrie Preston) after Pamela comes home with a boy. Thurl Chessor (Barry Corbin) is a neighbor. These are great performances of compelling characters. Holbrook shows a terrifically pained bitter person. Everybody delivers in this. There is quiet tension throughout.

An extraordinary film that may be forgotten in time due to its unusual third act...

[vegfemnat · 8/10 · 27 January 2016]

The film is brilliant and a must see as other reviewers have already mentioned. The acting is masterclass and together with the brilliantly written dialogue paints the characters and their interactions in the fewest strokes possible. No wasted dialogues that bring nothing new to the story. I will not waste time mentioning how good Hal Holbrook is in the movie since every other reviewer has already done that.

Instead I have to mention Ray McKinnon's performance as the troubled self-destructive alcoholic who s struggling to straighten himself out for the sake of his family. His portrayal both scares for being the dormant maniac that is at the edge of being unleashed at every stage and at the same time saddens for him being unable to reform himself due to a lot of external factors - him being unable to find a steady income , an old dude trying to snatch his family's home from him, his daughter dating a guy's son whom he detests for supposedly having stolen his grandfather's watch. The low lit sequences of him sitting in front of the television knee deep in self loathing and the weight of past regrets hanging over him is both scary and sad at the same time. At one point he tells his wife "People just can't understand that a guy can change". Ray McKinnon's Lonzo Choat is unforgettable.

The only issue I had with the movie was with its messy third act. I mean I can understand the story treading a little offbeat path in its final stage to bring about a certain sense of realism and a non- cliché end. But it was too off putting for me. It was abrupt and doesn't give a sense of closure. I had already invested so much time in the Choat family and was at least hoping to see where things go for them. But the movie just completely disregards their plight at the end showing us nothing of them whatsoever. My heart was yearning to know what happens to them afterwards.

But still a definite masterpiece with some brilliant shots and outstanding character studies. I'll definitely watch this a second time.

An old man is being forced off his farm

[dabbott-119-716334 · 29 July 2011]

The acting is excellent as is the rest of the production elements. The plot is downright flabbergasting. It is as if Stephen Segal stepped in to save an old man from being humiliated by a bunch of rednecks and they beat up Segal and continue to humiliate the old guy for the rest of the hour and a half film.

One could argue that this is the way life happens.

One could say the same for snuff films

A small plot change would have saved this film

Barry Corbin is always wonderful to watch.

The film depressed me.

Hauntingly Beautiful

[philhayes80 · 9/10 · 25 August 2018]

Such a great movie. I remember watching this on DVD , and just cried when just knowing that little then a year later Dixie Carter would pass away. The movie pulls at the heart and does a lot to put us on the old mans side.

"I have visions of your mother.." What does she say? "she listens mostly"

The actor that resurrected Mark Twain in 1959 is back in Tennessee.

[deadbull-95171 · 9/10 · 4 April 2022]

If vernacular was an index of smarts, a lot of people would be misguided. Holbrook as Abner, and the enemy's daughter Pamela, the old man and the child, are the ones with the clearest heads and best reasoning in the script.

Holbrook always seems to come across as the intellectual ground zero in any movie or role. Here he's 83 playing an 80 year old, but razor sharp and tough. And he established himself as a master of vernacular 60 years ago.

And, being Hal Holbrook, he's believable. Ray McKinnon, as the nemesis, is more complex. Basically a sadistic loser, his meanness only goes so far, as we see near the end, and the plot has an unexpected compromise sort of solution, a resignation, a sort of defeat with dignity that opens new possibilities, in a situation that looks like it will escalate into a clash of the Titans, where there can only be one decisive victor. I suppose the good guy does win, but pays a messy price.

I'm not sure the plot is even the point. It's well scripted and a good story, but it clearly is the acting that grabs more then the story. It's a guy near the end of his life (in the film) putting all his strength into the play he's making, against someone who always seems deviously lethal but has weak spots that Abner makes it his business to ferret out.

I'm slipping into plot again. I suppose because that is easier to quantify then the quality that makes a role believable, or what makes a given performer great instead of very competent.

Simply, it's a satisfying movie in every way and a winner.

wane or rise

[hamid-r-goodarzi · 10 October 2022]

The movie "That evening sun" is an interesting drama that was made in 2017, I liked the movie. In my opinion, the strong point of the film is its content, which is taken from a literary story. The actors are good but I didn't like the decoupage of the director. The camera movements are not good,Also, flashbacks have not worked well in the narration of the film. But on the other hand, the choice of location is good and it is in line with the theme of the movie. The film has been welcomed in festivals and has attracted the opinion of experts And the general audience also connects with the film. Overall the movie is good.