In the Gloaming

Glenn Close's character speaks about movies that make you laugh and cry. This is one of those, although tbh it makes you cry a lot more than it makes you laugh, or even smile. I cried buckets.

A TV movie, but those can be really good and with this cast it's almost impossible to fail. There's something magical about Danny and his mom and their quiet talks outside. Directed by Christopher Reeve. A short movie but very touching. It's very predictable but the beauty is in the dialogue and the chemistry that the characters have or do not have. All actors contribute here, even those with minor roles. Bridget Fonda's is thankless and limited but she does well too. I guess it could've been longer and probed more into dad and sis. But it's fine.

I saw this film when it first aired on HBO and came across it recently on Logo. Logo added 28 minutes of commercials to make a 90-minute film, and what a slog those were to sit through.

So I went to Amazon to buy it, only to find out it wouldn't be available on DVD until last July, then September, and now November.

So this review is written a long time after seeing the whole thing.

Enough griping. This film is superb, though I speak with a bias toward sad movies. Christopher Reeve's direction is marvelous. He gets perfect performances from Robert Sean Leonard and Glenn Close as the son and mother. David Strathaim as the father is very good. Whoopi is good, but I thought her "love him" speech sounded forced.

The film's emotional impact is huge. There are three very sad moments: when Glenn Close sings "Danny Boy," when Danny dies, and when the mother and father embrace at the end. For me, Danny's death was the least sad of the three. Glenn Close's singing of "Danny Boy" is beyond perfect ... the way she can't sing the last word ... it rips me apart.

The scenery is so gorgeous. The pullback from the house at the end is very well done. The final credits are great with the song sung by Reeve's wife -- another teary moment -- except Logo ruined them.

Reeve was a great director.

(2014) I was going to post a review of the film, only to find I already had. I upped the rating from 9 to 10 stars. I just checked Amazon. It's still not available on DVD, only VHS. I don't get it.

IN THE GLOAMING (1997/MTV) *** Glenn Close, David Strathairn, Robert Sean Leonard, Bridget Fonda, Whoopi Goldberg. Christopher Reeve (shortly after his debilitating horse riding accident) directed this HBO Films story about a WASP family coming to terms with their gay son's decision to return home to die with dignity and decidedly to heal some old wounds. Effective acting especially Close as the mother and Leonard as her boy.

I've seen this film a number of times, and time and time again, I get the same feeling and hope in my head - that not all parents (especially the father's) are quite like this family. The mother was cold up until she knew that whatever she did or said would not change the fact that her son was going to die.

The father.....I don't have the brain energy to talk about this _ _ _.

The father was not interested in the son, his life or happiness or anything about the boy for that matter - until the son was dead - then all of sudden it was all "can you please tell me what else my son wanted" - oh give me a friggin break. If he was at all interested he could of found out himself a few days before the son died.

Overall - a very good movie - but you might feel a little empty spot in your head or heart at the end of this movie.

Such a quiet and gentle film. All the action revolves around this family's domestic routines; meals served in the backyard overlooking the pond, wheelchair promenades down beautiful country roads and intimate conversations between mother and son basking in the gloaming (the last hour of daylight). It is during these moments that Close and Leonard absolutely shine. This is very much a story about a boy and his mom. All other relationships are secondary until the end of the film. Family relationships can be complicated, especially when one is dying. The stoic and reserved nature of the characters response to the gay son's health crisis is compelling.

A nice turn by Whoopi Goldberg as the live-in nurse who re-teaches the mother to physically care for and interact with her adult son.Pay special attention to the death scene (and I'm not really giving anything away here) and notice the characters breathing. It is a wonderful symbolic representation of one life ending and another being "reborn".