That Evening Sun

Drew's Thoughts:
Scott Teems's excellent Southern gothic slowburner That Evening Sun is the first great film I've seen this year.
Hal Holbrook gives a fantastic performance as Abner Meecham, a grizzled old Tennesseean farmer who leaves his nursing home unannounced after recovering from a hip injury to find his son has leased the farm to another family. Meecham determined to take his farm back takes up residence in the sharecropper house on the property and a power struggle ensues between him and the family.
Just about everything about the film is top-notch. The screenplay is excellent and first time filmmaker Teems sustains tension and controls the mood perfectly (even managing some unexpectedly funny moments.) The acting is strong too with good supporting performances by Oscar-winner Ray McKinnon (who also produces) as the man who Meecham wars with, Carrie Preston (Arrested Development) and Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) as his wife and daughter and Barry Corbin (No Country for Old Men) provides his unique presence as Meecham's neighbor. Holbrook really is the star of the show though with his gruff, convicted and ultimately towering performance. I'll be surprised if he doesn't end up with a Drew nom at the end of the year.
Add to that impeccable cinematography and editing and a good piano/guitar score by Michael Penn (Boogie Nights) and you got yourself a great goddamn movie.
We're only halfway through the year, and there's a lot more films to be seen, but whether That Evening Sun is in the final five at the end of the year or not, it is certainly good enough to be there.