''The Evening Hour'' is a 2020 American
drama
Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
film, directed by
Braden King
Braden King (born 1971, North Carolina) is a New York–based filmmaker, photographer and visual artist. His feature film, ''Here'' (2011), starring Ben Foster and Lubna Azabal, premiered at the 2011 Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals and was di ...
from a screenplay by Elizabeth Palmore. It is based upon the 2012 novel of the same name by Carter Sickels. It stars
Philip Ettinger
Philip Ettinger (born September 8, 1985) is an American actor. He first gained attention for his supporting role as the troubled environmental activist, Michael, in Paul Schrader's ''First Reformed'' (2017). Other significant roles have been as ...
,
Stacy Martin
Stacy Martin (born 20 March 1990) is a French actress. Her breakthrough role was playing Joe as a young woman in Lars von Trier's 2013 drama film '' Nymphomaniac''. She is a frequent collaborator with Brady Corbet, having appeared in his films ...
,
Cosmo Jarvis
Harrison Cosmo Krikoryan-Jarvis (born ), known as Cosmo Jarvis, is an English actor and former singer-songwriter. He has starred in the films '' Lady Macbeth'' (2016), '' Calm with Horses'' (2019), ''Persuasion'' (2022), and ''Warfare'' (2025). ...
, Michael Trotter,
Kerry Bishé
Kerry Bishé is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Donna Clark in the AMC period drama series '' Halt and Catch Fire'' (2014–2017) and Lucy Bennett, the lead/narrator in the final season of the ABC medical sitcom '' Scrubs'' ...
and
Lili Taylor
Lili Anne Taylor (born February 20, 1967) is an American actress. She came to prominence with supporting parts in the films '' Mystic Pizza'' (1988) and '' Say Anything...'' (1989), before establishing herself as one of the key figures of 1990s i ...
.
It had its world premiere at the
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023.
The festival has acted ...
on January 27, 2020. It was released on July 30, 2021 by
Strand Releasing
Strand Releasing is an American film production company founded in 1989 and is based in Culver City, California. The company has distributed over 300 auteur-driven titles from acclaimed international and American directors such as Apichatpong W ...
.
Plot
Cole works as a nursing aide at an elderly care facility in rural
Appalachia
Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...
. As a side job, he redistributes excess medication from residents to local buyers. Cole sees himself as a caretaker who keeps addicts out of the path of the town’s drug kingpin. His double life becomes suddenly threatened when a childhood friend returns after years away with plans to follow Cole into the local drug trade.
Cast
*
Philip Ettinger
Philip Ettinger (born September 8, 1985) is an American actor. He first gained attention for his supporting role as the troubled environmental activist, Michael, in Paul Schrader's ''First Reformed'' (2017). Other significant roles have been as ...
as Cole Freeman
*
Stacy Martin
Stacy Martin (born 20 March 1990) is a French actress. Her breakthrough role was playing Joe as a young woman in Lars von Trier's 2013 drama film '' Nymphomaniac''. She is a frequent collaborator with Brady Corbet, having appeared in his films ...
as Charlotte Carson
*
Cosmo Jarvis
Harrison Cosmo Krikoryan-Jarvis (born ), known as Cosmo Jarvis, is an English actor and former singer-songwriter. He has starred in the films '' Lady Macbeth'' (2016), '' Calm with Horses'' (2019), ''Persuasion'' (2022), and ''Warfare'' (2025). ...
as Terry Rose
* Michael Trotter as Reese Campbell
*
Kerry Bishé
Kerry Bishé is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Donna Clark in the AMC period drama series '' Halt and Catch Fire'' (2014–2017) and Lucy Bennett, the lead/narrator in the final season of the ABC medical sitcom '' Scrubs'' ...
as Lacy Cooper
*
Lili Taylor
Lili Anne Taylor (born February 20, 1967) is an American actress. She came to prominence with supporting parts in the films '' Mystic Pizza'' (1988) and '' Say Anything...'' (1989), before establishing herself as one of the key figures of 1990s i ...
as Ruby Freeman, Cole's mother
*
Marc Menchaca
Marc Menchaca (born October 10, 1975) is an American actor, writer, and director. He was co-director, co-writer, and lead actor of the 2013 Heartland Film Festival movie ''This Is Where We Live'', and was awarded best actor at the Breckenridg ...
as Everett
*
Ross Partridge
Ross Partridge (born February 26, 1968) is an American actor, director, screenwriter and producer.
His most notable work as a director is the 2015 adaptation of the book '' Lamb'', which Partridge wrote, starred in and directed. As an actor, h ...
as Randy
* Frank Hoyt Taylor as Clyde Freeman
*
Tess Harper
Tessie Jean Harper (''née'' Washam; born August 15, 1950) is an American actress. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her first film role in 1983's '' Tender Mercies'', and for the Academy Award for Bes ...
as Dorothy Freeman
Production
In March 2016, it was announced
Cynthia Nixon
Cynthia Ellen Nixon (born April 9, 1966) is an American actress, activist, and theater director. For her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supportin ...
,
Brian Geraghty
Brian Timothy Geraghty (born May 13, 1975) is an American actor, known for his roles in the 2005 film '' Jarhead'', the 2008 film ''The Hurt Locker'', and in the 2012 film ''Flight'', along with his recurring role in the HBO drama series '' Board ...
,
Marin Ireland
Marin Ireland (born August 30, 1979) is an American actress. Known for her work in theatre and independent films, ''The New York Times'' deemed Ireland "one of the great drama queens of the New York stage". She has received nominations for two I ...
and Michael Trotter had joined the cast of the film, with
Braden King
Braden King (born 1971, North Carolina) is a New York–based filmmaker, photographer and visual artist. His feature film, ''Here'' (2011), starring Ben Foster and Lubna Azabal, premiered at the 2011 Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals and was di ...
directing from a screenplay by Elizabeth Palmore based upon the 2012 novel of the same name by Carter Sickels. In November 2018, it was announced
Philip Ettinger
Philip Ettinger (born September 8, 1985) is an American actor. He first gained attention for his supporting role as the troubled environmental activist, Michael, in Paul Schrader's ''First Reformed'' (2017). Other significant roles have been as ...
,
Stacy Martin
Stacy Martin (born 20 March 1990) is a French actress. Her breakthrough role was playing Joe as a young woman in Lars von Trier's 2013 drama film '' Nymphomaniac''. She is a frequent collaborator with Brady Corbet, having appeared in his films ...
,
Cosmo Jarvis
Harrison Cosmo Krikoryan-Jarvis (born ), known as Cosmo Jarvis, is an English actor and former singer-songwriter. He has starred in the films '' Lady Macbeth'' (2016), '' Calm with Horses'' (2019), ''Persuasion'' (2022), and ''Warfare'' (2025). ...
,
Kerry Bishé
Kerry Bishé is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Donna Clark in the AMC period drama series '' Halt and Catch Fire'' (2014–2017) and Lucy Bennett, the lead/narrator in the final season of the ABC medical sitcom '' Scrubs'' ...
,
Lili Taylor
Lili Anne Taylor (born February 20, 1967) is an American actress. She came to prominence with supporting parts in the films '' Mystic Pizza'' (1988) and '' Say Anything...'' (1989), before establishing herself as one of the key figures of 1990s i ...
,
Marc Menchaca
Marc Menchaca (born October 10, 1975) is an American actor, writer, and director. He was co-director, co-writer, and lead actor of the 2013 Heartland Film Festival movie ''This Is Where We Live'', and was awarded best actor at the Breckenridg ...
,
Tess Harper
Tessie Jean Harper (''née'' Washam; born August 15, 1950) is an American actress. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her first film role in 1983's '' Tender Mercies'', and for the Academy Award for Bes ...
and Frank Hoyt Taylor had joined the cast of the film, replacing Nixon, Geraghty and Ireland. It was filmed in
Harlan, Kentucky
Harlan is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in and the county seat of Harlan County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,745 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, down from 2,081 at the 2000 census.
Harlan is ...
.
Release
It had its world premiere at the
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023.
The festival has acted ...
on January 27, 2020. In December 2020,
Strand Releasing
Strand Releasing is an American film production company founded in 1989 and is based in Culver City, California. The company has distributed over 300 auteur-driven titles from acclaimed international and American directors such as Apichatpong W ...
acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film. It was released on July 30, 2021.
Reception
Critical response
The
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
reports an approval rating of with an average score of , based on reviews.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evening Hour, The (film)
2020 films
2020 independent films
American drama films
Films based on American novels
2020 drama films
2020s English-language films
2020s American films
English-language independent films