Alex is not like other girls. She is a 15-year-old with a secret, one that no other can claim. Her parents keep her hidden away at a coastal town in amongst the dunes of the shoreline, buying time before they must decide on a life-threatening operation.
When old family friend and plastic surgeon Ramiro arrives with his teenage son ?lvaro, Alex begins to realise that his visit could chan... ge her life forever. As the parents wrestle with the complications that will arise as Alex reaches adulthood, Alex and Alvaro become close, their relationship causing tensions amongst the locals. However, as the parents battle it out to instill a sense of open-mindedness amongst their society, it is the children who prove themselves to be flexible in understanding the sexual leanings and complexities of others.
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Highly recommended
A very subtle and interesting film, thought-provoking and with a good story. You don't have to have any special interest in theories of gender to enjoy this, it's a very human story of a teenager in an unusual situation, and how s/he and her family, friends and neighbours relate to her. I find it hard to describe, I make it sound like an 'issue of the month' tearjerker and It' so far from from that ... not a hollywood movie at all, but not an impenetrable art film either. The central performance is extremely good. I've lent this film to neighbours who've also raved about it.
Director Andrew Wagner draws topnotch work from a pro cast in Starting Out in the Evening, a wise, carefully observed chamber drama about an elderly novelist whose daily routine is interrupted by the arrival of a young grad student with more than academics on her mind. While its New York lit-world setting, focus on aging and preference for intelligent dialogue over kinetic action will do little to create a feeding frenzy among potential distribs, this small yet deeply resonant pic should be embraced by upscale arthouse auds and spark awards talk for star Frank Langella.
A contemporary of Saul Bellow and Delmore Schwartz, Leonard Schiller (Langella) has...
