There's an indie film that has been off the Cinematical radar, but might just be something to look out for in the future. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Roadside Attraction has secured the worldwide distribution rights to Andrew Wagner's indie drama called Starting Out in the Evening, based on the 1999 novel by Brian Morton. The film, which premiered at Sundance in January, boasts an impressive cast of Lauren Ambrose, Frank Langella and Lili Taylor. Roadside plans to release it in the states this November, just in time for a nice awards push for Langella's performance -- it's one that THR gushingly called "astounding." What might be even more-so is the fact that the performance could come from a shoot that lasted only 18 days.The story revolves around a forceful grad student named Heather (Ambrose). She's writing her thesis on a novelist named Leonard Schiller (Langella), and hopes this will be a huge step to her own literary success. She meets him, finding him to be: "Old, fat, bald, leaning awkwardly on a cane" -- the vision of her literary hero a bit dashed. Meanwhile, he's been struggling on the same book for ten years, as his health deteriorates. There is also Schiller's daughter (Taylor), who is struggling with her desire for a child and her marriage to a man who doesn't want to have one. Heather invades his world, a seductive and challenging pressure in his life. I'm not sure how much more you can ask for -- an interesting story, great actors, glowing reviews and some indie flavor.
