Without knowing anything about the movie, I correctly guessed that Starting out in the Evening was based on a book &/or play. It was the first. The movie is infected with a thick nostalgia that is slowly lifted as each character begins to live their lives instead of sticking to routine and suffocating amongst the mothballs. It was so nice to see Lili Taylor play someone that isn’t crazy, and if the movie had just focused on her character’s story, I would have loved this movie because her imperfect, but loving relationship with her father & significant other, played by the incomparable Adrian Lester, felt authentic and moving. Frank Langella did a great job, but I may be ageist, not a big fan or allergic to cliches because his relationship with the graduate student made me want to wretch. I could practically see Lauren Ambrose thinking about her next move and couldn’t abandon myself to believe there was even a possibility of any real exchange between the student and the aging writer beyond their literary collaboration. Even Adrian Lester and Frank Langella felt more convincing as awkward boyfriend navigating his relationship with the father in order to find common ground and mature as a person. Overall I really enjoyed the movie, especially the stubborn refusal to submit to the cliche of introducing an aging character only to turn the character into a symbol of triumph of life by jumping out of parachutes to seize the day or dying triumphantly with no regret to the relief &(because they don’t have to care for him) & loving family.