Take a look at this poster for the movie Evening:
First, can you believe all of those women are in the same movie? It’s like The Hours on crack. Several of those names would be impressive on their own, and in certain pairs (like Streep/Close, Collette/Redgrave) I’d be gape-mouthed. But six super lady stars in one film? (I’m counting Danes, Collette, Redgrave, Richardson, Streep, and Close as superstars.) I’m gobsmacked.
Once I get past the mind-blowing litany of names, though, I have to ask: What the hell kind of order are they in?
It’s not alphabetical, and it’s not in order of star power, so what does that leave us? The cast list gave me another idea: There are “young” versions of a couple of the characters, so that might have served as an organizing principle. But no, that would mean Claire Danes (who plays “Young Ann”) should be next to Vanessa Redgrave (who plays “Ann Grant Lord”) and Mamie Gummer (“Young Lila Wittenborn”) should be next to real-life mom Meryl Streep (“Lila Wittenborn”). So that’s not the sort order either.
By the way, Mamie has her mama’s nose and smile, doesn’t she?
I’m going to assume that the order is either based on role size or is entirely random. I won’t accept that there’s any other reason to give Claire Danes — as much as I love her — top billing over all of those stunning thespians. It’s just not right.
But whatever the logic or lack thereof, I’m looking forward to the film. IMDb offers this plot summary: “A dying woman reflects on the time in her youth when she met the love of her life as her two daughters wrestle with their mother’s impending death and their own personal issues.” Michael Cunningham (The Hours) wrote the screenplay, adapting a Susan Minot novel. Yeah, this one is gonna be weepy. The opening credits — hmm, I wonder what the billing order will be there? — will probably set me off and I’ll blubber right through to the end.
