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In the Gloaming (film)

In the Gloaming
Based on	New Yorker short story
Written by	Will Scheffer
Directed by	Christopher Reeve
Starring	Glenn Close Bridget Fonda Whoopi Goldberg Robert Sean Leonard David Strathairn
Music by	Dave Grusin
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Executive producers	Michael Fuchs Nicholas Paleologos Frederick Zollo
Producers	Nellie Nugiel Bonnie Timmermann
Cinematography	Frederick Elmes
Editor	David Ray
Running time	67 minutes
Production companies	Frederick Zollo Productions HBO NYC Productions
Original release
Network	HBO
Release	April 20, 1997 (1997-04-20)

In the Gloaming is a 1997 American television film written by Will Scheffer and directed by Christopher Reeve in his directorial debut. It stars Robert Sean Leonard, Glenn Close, David Strathairn, Bridget Fonda and Whoopi Goldberg. The movie is based on a short story in The New Yorker written by Alice Elliott Dark.^[1] The film premiered on HBO on April 20, 1997. It won four CableACE Awards and was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards.

Premise[edit]

Prodigal son Danny leaves San Francisco and returns to his family’s home to die from late-stage AIDS. Danny finds the same icy-cool, upper-crust suburban home he left all those years ago. Danny’s father is a middle-age businessman who's clueless as to how to relate to his son, and has never come to terms with his son's homosexuality. His sister Anne feels left out of the moments of closeness Danny shares with their mother. His mother Janet feels guilty for keeping her son at a distance, but it's her that he emotionally connects with and ultimately ends up facing his death with, by sharing their thoughts on everything from movies to sex. Live-in nurse Myrna completes the picture.^[2]

Cast[edit]

• Robert Sean Leonard as Danny
• Glenn Close as Janet
• David Strathairn as Martin
• Bridget Fonda as Anne
• Whoopi Goldberg as Nurse Myrna
• Annie Starke as Young Anne
• Will Reeve as Young Danny (son of Christopher Reeve)

Production notes[edit]

Christopher Reeve had to direct most of the film from a room off set via TV monitors and headphones because the hissing sounds from his respirator would have ruined the actors' voice recordings. He would watch and listen to all the day’s scenes from the room, and when he had instructions to give, he used a microphone to convey those directives to a speaker situated next to the actors.^[3] Robert Sean Leonard said of Reeve, "to have someone on your set who cannot move, but who's in charge, is a rather incredible thing. Most first-time directors have a hard time with the chaos that goes on. [They tend to] put lots of the decisions on the cinematographer's shoulders. Not Chris. He held his own … He was the anchor."^[3]

Critical reception[edit]

Variety wrote in their review that "Close is strikingly passionate, while Leonard is superb in capturing the complex layers of Danny’s ever-evolving emotional state...the movie is rare in its utter lack of contrived sentiment, even when Danny’s near death".^[4] The Chicago Tribune wrote "it's an exceptionally powerful work...and Leonard conveys a deep sense of release and clarity of vision, while Close shines as a woman whose tragedy forces her to revisit the paths taken in her life".^[5]

New York Times TV critic John J. O'Connor wrote that "Reeve makes an enormously impressive directorial debut". O'Connor also suggested that this is really a chamber piece, a duet for mother and son. "In this instance, both are extraordinary. Ms. Close...reminds us once again that she can be the most subtle and moving of actresses...and Mr. Leonard skillfully avoids easy sentimentality to create an admirably steel-edged portrait".^[6] The Hartford Courant wrote "the film belongs mostly to Close and Leonard, whose complicated, sometimes uncomfortably close relationship, drives the story". They also advised that the film is an hour well worth investing in, "an often deeply moving portrayal of an American family that too many, no doubt, know too well".^[7]

Awards and nominations[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• In the GloamingatIMDb
• In the GloamingatRotten Tomatoes