The Evening Hour (2020)
Directed By: Braden King
Starring: Philip Ettinger, Cosmo Jarvis, Lili Taylor, Tess Harper, Marc Menchaca
Plot Summary: Cole Freeman maintains an uneasy equilibrium in his Appalachian town, looking after the old and infirm in the community while selling their excess painkillers to local addicts to make ends meet. But when an old friend returns with dangerous new plans that threaten the fragile balance Cole has crafted in his declining mountain town, his world and identity are thrown into deep disarray. THE EVENING HOUR is an authentic portrait of a rural American landscape in transition – a moving, lyrical hymn for the complex tangle of hardship and hope wrought by the opioid addiction in Appalachia.
What struck me right away was just how breathtaking The Evening Hour looks. Director Braden King has a background in visual arts and it certainly shows. He, along with cinematographer Delan Quinn (Hamilton), really captures a haunting beauty and uses its locales to their utmost. Taking this a step further, Quinn utilizes natural lighting to give an ethereal look. This seems fitting as the movie leans into religion heavily (more on that later).
Not to mention it has some truly creative camera work.
However, Evening Hour suffers from what I can see as two fundamental issues: pacing and an underdeveloped screenplay. There’s no way around it, this movie is painfully slow. It starts out with an interesting premise: a drug-dealer with a heart of gold gets caught up in a dangerous web after a childhood friend blows into town. Instead of focusing on this, the movie sidelines its own interesting set-up with side characters and sub-plots that do nothing to move the narrative forward. Frankly, a lot of it is a slog to get through. This brings me to the screenplay. Whew. Okay, so this movie has a lot of feelings and a lot of things it wants to say. It’s very clear that King wants this movie to be a statement piece on the opioid problems in Appalachia. This would be fine, but this isn’t very subtle and at times feels very contradictory. Here’s the thing, Cole, our “hero” of the story, is an opioid dealer. Let’s get that perfectly clear from the start. Yes, having a morally complex character is fine, even welcomed.
The problem is King and first-time screenwriter Elizabeth Palmore go out of their way to paint Cole as a nearly saint-like figure. It also makes it very clear that Cole sees himself as morally above the bad faction of dealers in town. Later on, a character literally calls out this hypocrisy. Does this lead Cole on a journey of introspective self-discovery or change? Nah. Flatly written characters coupled with at times baffling and unintentionally hilarious dialogue doesn’t help matters. Not to mention Philip Ettinger is great as an actor, but I still found Cole to be such a dull 2D character. King and Palmore try hard to flesh him out as a character, but it just felt shallow and lifeless. Evening Hour also adds religious overtones which doesn’t add anything thematically nor narratively. It is however a good way to make it seem like your movie is deep.
I will say that for the most part the acting is great. As I mentioned, Philip Ettinger is very solid and adds layers that aren’t on the page. I kept thinking he blended into the background at times, but I think it’s just the poor writing and lack of strong direction. The real stand out is Cosmo Jarvis. If there is any justice, this film will launch him into bigger projects. He does so much with a look or body language which I think helps elevate the material greatly. Lily Taylor is good, but as much as I love the actor’s previous work, she seems to be phoning it in here. Like Ettinger, her character feels lifeless. Not to mention her southern accent seems to appear and disappear at random. I don’t blame Taylor entirely, as she is given her share of wooden dialogue to work with. Marc Menchaca makes a meal out of his typical gruff baddie role, and I think its enjoyable. Though, he just narrowly skirts the line of hammy.
The Evening Hour wants to say something important about some very serious issues like addiction, drug abuse and poverty. Sadly, I don’t think it knows exactly how to express these topics in a way that feels fresh, interesting and vital. Instead, we get bogged down with a lifeless narrative that is heavy with its hand and seems to endorse the very evil it seems to be preaching against. I will give King credit, his movie looks incredible and the acting, for the most part, is really top-notch.
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Big film nerd and TCM Obsessed. Author of The Ultimate Guide to Strange Cinema from Schiffer Publishing. Resume includes: AMC’s The Bite, Scream Magazine etc. Love all kinds of movies and television and have interviewed a wide range of actors, writers, producers and directors. I currently am a regular co-host on the podcast The Humanoids from the Deep Dive and have a second book in the works from Bear Manor.
