2009, USA
Drama
Read the review in The Desert Sun. Extended version:
Life is hard for the surrounding world when stubborn bulldogs face off, and in That Evening Sun, family and friends can all but tie down two men who would rather bite and snarl at each other than work out their problems.
Director Scott Teems tackles his first feature film and second William Gay short story, here with an adaptation of "I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down." Hal Holbrook (Into the Wild) portrays the elderly Abner Meecham, fed up the controlled loneliness of nursing home living. After three months of the same routine, he hits the road and heads to his Tennessee farmstead. Only his home is no longer his; his son has rented it to the Choat family.
Not only does Abner take offense to being considered too old to care for his much cherished land, but Lonzo Choat (Ray McKinnon, "Deadwood") is a particular spur in his side as the lazy redneck who has somehow obtained it. Waiting for Lonzo to slip and ready to push his buttons along the way, Abner squats in the dilapidated tenant house on the lot, ready to take over when they leave.
Teems smartly avoids all of the usual traps easily set for this film. Lonzo's daughter, Pamela (Mia Wasikowska, who plays Alice in Tim Burton's upcoming Alice in Wonderland), attempts to connect with Abner, and though there is a discovered tenderness, there is no magical grandfatherly moment. There is an implication that Abner's younger self may be reflected in Lonzo, but there is no great epiphany in a mirrored flashback. The two men constantly butt heads, but there is no hokey moment where they fall to the floor laughing at their follies. By avoiding the easy paths, Teems discovers an intriguing story that stays true and feels honest.
Honesty comes at a hard price, as characters avoid black and white labels. Though Abner is determined to judge Lonzo as no-good white trash, Lonzo has made great strides to change that label. However, it is not an easy path, and his family loves him for the changes he has made and the man he is attempting to be -- not for the faulty personality he still inhabits.
Abner, too, must acknowledge that he is no easy man with which to live, yet his stubbornness to convince Lonzo that he is worthless clouds his own perception of himself. Lonzo's wife (Carrie Preston, "True Blood") and Abner's friend Thurl (Barry Corbin, "Northern Exposure") attempt to provide solid advice, but the men prove nearly too stubborn to survive one another. As That Evening Sun slowly sets, Teems reveals a world full of cracks but aching to heal.