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Original produced for HBO, this hour-long drama marks the emotionally stressful turning point for a family nearly torn apart by the tragedy of AIDS. It also marked a turning point for actor Christopher Reeve, making an acclaimed directorial debut following the horse-riding accident that left him a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the shoulders down and dependent on a ventilator to breathe. This moving drama proved that Reeve could succeed in his second career, drawing upon his own experience to elicit fine performances from his distinguished cast. Robert Sean Leonard plays a gay man in his early 20s who returns to the home of his affluent parents in upstate New York, dying from AIDS and wishing to spend his final months with his family. While his mother (Glenn Close) responds with care and compassion with the help of a live-in nurse (Whoopi Goldberg), his father (David Strathairn) is unable to accept his son's sexual orientation, much less his inevitable death. His sister (Bridget Fonda) is equally confused and detached from the family, and this emotionally wrenching situation generates a slow and painful change in the dynamics of this dysfunctional family. Similar in theme and quality to Ordinary People, this thoughtfully written and directed film packs more honesty and emotion into 62 minutes than most dramas twice that length. It's a showcase for superior talent and a remarkable achievement for everyone involved. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Read the actual short story.
Be sure to read the short story by Alice Elliott Dark this film is based on. The writing will draw you in, grab you, then leave you knowing you've just experienced a wonderful moment. The visuals are all there and far better than the film.

I'm speechless...
This is just one of those movies where you walk away not sure what to say. I caught it by accident on cable, and was mesmerized from the second it started. It's a great story about life, and death, and all we hold dear to us.

perspective
I found this movie to be inspiring, hauntingly beautiful in thought and performance, writing and directing. A current day story that any of us might experience, and might not deal with as well as depicted here. The title song at the end is breathtaking, and I have been searching for it since seeing the film last year. Thought provoking and important. Well worth watching.

A GREAT MOVIE THAT WAS DIRECTED BY AM INSPIRATIONAL DIRECTOR
JUST WHEN PEOPLE THOUGHT CHRIS REEVE WAS DONE AFTER HIS SERIOUS ACCIDENT HE CAME BACK STRONGER THAN EVER!! INSTEAD OF STARRING IN THE MOVIE HE WAS THE ONE IN CHARGE! IN THE GLOAMING IS ABOUT A YOUNG MAN WHO HAS AIDS AND LEAVES HIS SOLE MATE TO LIVE OUT HIS FINAL DAYS WITH HIS PARENTS.THE CAST LIST HAS ALOT OF STAR POWER ALSO, CAST MEMBERS INCLUDE WHOOPI GOLDBERG, DAVD STATHERIN, GLENN CLOSE,WHOM NOT ONLY SHOWS OFF HER ACTING TALLENT , BUT ALSO SHOWS OFF HER MUSICAL TALLENT IN ONE OF THE MOST TOUCHING SCENES FROM THE FILM WHEN SHE SINGS DANNY BOY!!!! GOOD JOB MR REEVE'S ON YOUR DIRECTORIAL DEBUT, KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK.

A Beautiful Story; One Every Family Should Learn From
"In the Gloaming", directed by Christopher Reeve is truly outstanding. It is the story of a young man (Danny) who comes home to his mother and father's home to die. He has AIDS. The family is and likely always has been very status conscious and wasn't high on the communications scale. In being faced with Danny's AIDS, his mother (Glen Close) feels truly helpless. It is apparent that Danny is her favorite child and while she initially has delusions that he will recover soon, she eventually must come to the reality that he has come home to die and whatever time is left in his life is their last time to say a lot of things never said, and the opportunity to make up for many lost opportunities. Close does a magnificient job in her portrayal of Danny's mother. She clearly brings home to the viewer that at certain points in our lives, we come across things we are unable to control, suffering that we cannot ease, and eventualities we cannot change the course toward their final destination. She is a wonderful model of what we can do in these situations. We can simply be present, offer comfort where possible, not run away and make up for some of those lost opportunities.

Danny and his mom have some beautifully touching discussions about life and love and things they never dared to discuss before. They are both better for this time. Sometimes for those who are dying and have come to accept this, the most significant thing we can do is be present as authentic people, not sympathetic, not falling apart, but truly present -- perhaps for the very first time -- present in the moment.

Danny's father is terrified of all the goings on around his home. He would rather not see it. Even though there is some desire to speak to his son, he simply does not know HOW. He is incapable of understanding the Being In the Present With His Son and spends much of his time escaping through various means and trying to understand a little more through questions he asks his wife about their son. The bridge is never crossed and there is clearly regret on Danny's dad's part after his death.

Bridget Fonda plays Danny's cold hearted snobby sister who has no tolerance for Close's doting on her dying son. She is fundamentally jealous of the favored relationship Danny has enjoyed with his mom throughout their lives and can't see past this to the reality of the fact that her brother is dying. Ironically, it is clear that Fonda has been Dad's favorite all her life and she doesn't seem to connect this fact to some understanding that each was loved by both parents and each was the favorite of one of those parents. Fonda's character also demonstrates the fear of AIDS and a basic homophobia in her refusal to bring her son to meet Danny.

Whoppie Goldberg the superstar of many different performance mediums plays a particularly understated role in this film as Danny's home nurse. She portrays a quiet, understanding, wise woman. One of her most beautiful scenes is her explaining very calmly to Danny's mom that the matter of fact is that DANNY IS DYING and the best his mother can do at this point IS TO LOVE HIM! She then brings Close to the comfort zone of being able to touch her son. A truly beautiful minor scene but among the most memorable.

This is not a date movie. Danny indeed dies at the end. His sister doesn't raise a degree of her freezer-bound personality yet Mom and Dad seem to come closer through the death. There is a promise of the hope of their having a more open and freely loving relationship as a result of the darkness which Danny's sickness and death brought to their home.

Danny portrayed by Sean Patrick Leonard is outstanding. He is a sensitive nice guy; not a gay clone and not someone who would be tagged as gay upon meeting him. A lesson in itself for the viewers who believe all gay people look and act alike and are always so obvious. The story is much less about Danny's sexuality than in his coming to terms with lost opportunities for communication with his family in the past. In many ways Leonard is as supportive to his mom in his dying as she is for him. The relationship between the two is never cloying but simply an opportunity for two people who are not naturally open communicators to finally come to a beautiful place of open-ness to one another.

Christopher Reeve, in this his directorial debut, has selected an excellent forum in the story of "In the Gloaming." He does a wonderful job in it's direction and overall portrayal. I hope he continues to be as astutely sensitive in his future directorial efforts.

In the Gloaming is a story for whole families. It is a story much about why we need to openly communicate with others -- all the time -- most especially with those we are so closely bound to; our family members! It is also a story which teaches about ways in which we can be present to others when we are simply helpless to change the course of events that their lives are taking. We, despite our own helplessness, can learn the importance of presence and communication without sympathy. Beautful lessons that go much beyond the AIDS pandemic.

Daniel J. Maloney ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Read the actual short story.
Be sure to read the short story by Alice Elliott Dark this film is based on. The writing will draw you in, grab you, then leave you knowing you've just experienced a wonderful moment. The visuals are all there and far better than the film.

I'm speechless...
This is just one of those movies where you walk away not sure what to say. I caught it by accident on cable, and was mesmerized from the second it started. It's a great story about life, and death, and all we hold dear to us.

perspective
I found this movie to be inspiring, hauntingly beautiful in thought and performance, writing and directing. A current day story that any of us might experience, and might not deal with as well as depicted here. The title song at the end is breathtaking, and I have been searching for it since seeing the film last year. Thought provoking and important. Well worth watching.

A GREAT MOVIE THAT WAS DIRECTED BY AM INSPIRATIONAL DIRECTOR
JUST WHEN PEOPLE THOUGHT CHRIS REEVE WAS DONE AFTER HIS SERIOUS ACCIDENT HE CAME BACK STRONGER THAN EVER!! INSTEAD OF STARRING IN THE MOVIE HE WAS THE ONE IN CHARGE! IN THE GLOAMING IS ABOUT A YOUNG MAN WHO HAS AIDS AND LEAVES HIS SOLE MATE TO LIVE OUT HIS FINAL DAYS WITH HIS PARENTS.THE CAST LIST HAS ALOT OF STAR POWER ALSO, CAST MEMBERS INCLUDE WHOOPI GOLDBERG, DAVD STATHERIN, GLENN CLOSE,WHOM NOT ONLY SHOWS OFF HER ACTING TALLENT , BUT ALSO SHOWS OFF HER MUSICAL TALLENT IN ONE OF THE MOST TOUCHING SCENES FROM THE FILM WHEN SHE SINGS DANNY BOY!!!! GOOD JOB MR REEVE'S ON YOUR DIRECTORIAL DEBUT, KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK.

A Beautiful Story; One Every Family Should Learn From
"In the Gloaming", directed by Christopher Reeve is truly outstanding. It is the story of a young man (Danny) who comes home to his mother and father's home to die. He has AIDS. The family is and likely always has been very status conscious and wasn't high on the communications scale. In being faced with Danny's AIDS, his mother (Glen Close) feels truly helpless. It is apparent that Danny is her favorite child and while she initially has delusions that he will recover soon, she eventually must come to the reality that he has come home to die and whatever time is left in his life is their last time to say a lot of things never said, and the opportunity to make up for many lost opportunities. Close does a magnificient job in her portrayal of Danny's mother. She clearly brings home to the viewer that at certain points in our lives, we come across things we are unable to control, suffering that we cannot ease, and eventualities we cannot change the course toward their final destination. She is a wonderful model of what we can do in these situations. We can simply be present, offer comfort where possible, not run away and make up for some of those lost opportunities.

Danny and his mom have some beautifully touching discussions about life and love and things they never dared to discuss before. They are both better for this time. Sometimes for those who are dying and have come to accept this, the most significant thing we can do is be present as authentic people, not sympathetic, not falling apart, but truly present -- perhaps for the very first time -- present in the moment.

Danny's father is terrified of all the goings on around his home. He would rather not see it. Even though there is some desire to speak to his son, he simply does not know HOW. He is incapable of understanding the Being In the Present With His Son and spends much of his time escaping through various means and trying to understand a little more through questions he asks his wife about their son. The bridge is never crossed and there is clearly regret on Danny's dad's part after his death.

Bridget Fonda plays Danny's cold hearted snobby sister who has no tolerance for Close's doting on her dying son. She is fundamentally jealous of the favored relationship Danny has enjoyed with his mom throughout their lives and can't see past this to the reality of the fact that her brother is dying. Ironically, it is clear that Fonda has been Dad's favorite all her life and she doesn't seem to connect this fact to some understanding that each was loved by both parents and each was the favorite of one of those parents. Fonda's character also demonstrates the fear of AIDS and a basic homophobia in her refusal to bring her son to meet Danny.

Whoppie Goldberg the superstar of many different performance mediums plays a particularly understated role in this film as Danny's home nurse. She portrays a quiet, understanding, wise woman. One of her most beautiful scenes is her explaining very calmly to Danny's mom that the matter of fact is that DANNY IS DYING and the best his mother can do at this point IS TO LOVE HIM! She then brings Close to the comfort zone of being able to touch her son. A truly beautiful minor scene but among the most memorable.

This is not a date movie. Danny indeed dies at the end. His sister doesn't raise a degree of her freezer-bound personality yet Mom and Dad seem to come closer through the death. There is a promise of the hope of their having a more open and freely loving relationship as a result of the darkness which Danny's sickness and death brought to their home.

Danny portrayed by Sean Patrick Leonard is outstanding. He is a sensitive nice guy; not a gay clone and not someone who would be tagged as gay upon meeting him. A lesson in itself for the viewers who believe all gay people look and act alike and are always so obvious. The story is much less about Danny's sexuality than in his coming to terms with lost opportunities for communication with his family in the past. In many ways Leonard is as supportive to his mom in his dying as she is for him. The relationship between the two is never cloying but simply an opportunity for two people who are not naturally open communicators to finally come to a beautiful place of open-ness to one another.

Christopher Reeve, in this his directorial debut, has selected an excellent forum in the story of "In the Gloaming." He does a wonderful job in it's direction and overall portrayal. I hope he continues to be as astutely sensitive in his future directorial efforts.

In the Gloaming is a story for whole families. It is a story much about why we need to openly communicate with others -- all the time -- most especially with those we are so closely bound to; our family members! It is also a story which teaches about ways in which we can be present to others when we are simply helpless to change the course of events that their lives are taking. We, despite our own helplessness, can learn the importance of presence and communication without sympathy. Beautful lessons that go much beyond the AIDS pandemic.

Daniel J. Maloney ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Read the actual short story.
Be sure to read the short story by Alice Elliott Dark this film is based on. The writing will draw you in, grab you, then leave you knowing you've just experienced a wonderful moment. The visuals are all there and far better than the film.

I'm speechless...
This is just one of those movies where you walk away not sure what to say. I caught it by accident on cable, and was mesmerized from the second it started. It's a great story about life, and death, and all we hold dear to us.

perspective
I found this movie to be inspiring, hauntingly beautiful in thought and performance, writing and directing. A current day story that any of us might experience, and might not deal with as well as depicted here. The title song at the end is breathtaking, and I have been searching for it since seeing the film last year. Thought provoking and important. Well worth watching.

A GREAT MOVIE THAT WAS DIRECTED BY AM INSPIRATIONAL DIRECTOR
JUST WHEN PEOPLE THOUGHT CHRIS REEVE WAS DONE AFTER HIS SERIOUS ACCIDENT HE CAME BACK STRONGER THAN EVER!! INSTEAD OF STARRING IN THE MOVIE HE WAS THE ONE IN CHARGE! IN THE GLOAMING IS ABOUT A YOUNG MAN WHO HAS AIDS AND LEAVES HIS SOLE MATE TO LIVE OUT HIS FINAL DAYS WITH HIS PARENTS.THE CAST LIST HAS ALOT OF STAR POWER ALSO, CAST MEMBERS INCLUDE WHOOPI GOLDBERG, DAVD STATHERIN, GLENN CLOSE,WHOM NOT ONLY SHOWS OFF HER ACTING TALLENT , BUT ALSO SHOWS OFF HER MUSICAL TALLENT IN ONE OF THE MOST TOUCHING SCENES FROM THE FILM WHEN SHE SINGS DANNY BOY!!!! GOOD JOB MR REEVE'S ON YOUR DIRECTORIAL DEBUT, KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK.

A Beautiful Story; One Every Family Should Learn From
"In the Gloaming", directed by Christopher Reeve is truly outstanding. It is the story of a young man (Danny) who comes home to his mother and father's home to die. He has AIDS. The family is and likely always has been very status conscious and wasn't high on the communications scale. In being faced with Danny's AIDS, his mother (Glen Close) feels truly helpless. It is apparent that Danny is her favorite child and while she initially has delusions that he will recover soon, she eventually must come to the reality that he has come home to die and whatever time is left in his life is their last time to say a lot of things never said, and the opportunity to make up for many lost opportunities. Close does a magnificient job in her portrayal of Danny's mother. She clearly brings home to the viewer that at certain points in our lives, we come across things we are unable to control, suffering that we cannot ease, and eventualities we cannot change the course toward their final destination. She is a wonderful model of what we can do in these situations. We can simply be present, offer comfort where possible, not run away and make up for some of those lost opportunities.

Danny and his mom have some beautifully touching discussions about life and love and things they never dared to discuss before. They are both better for this time. Sometimes for those who are dying and have come to accept this, the most significant thing we can do is be present as authentic people, not sympathetic, not falling apart, but truly present -- perhaps for the very first time -- present in the moment.

Danny's father is terrified of all the goings on around his home. He would rather not see it. Even though there is some desire to speak to his son, he simply does not know HOW. He is incapable of understanding the Being In the Present With His Son and spends much of his time escaping through various means and trying to understand a little more through questions he asks his wife about their son. The bridge is never crossed and there is clearly regret on Danny's dad's part after his death.

Bridget Fonda plays Danny's cold hearted snobby sister who has no tolerance for Close's doting on her dying son. She is fundamentally jealous of the favored relationship Danny has enjoyed with his mom throughout their lives and can't see past this to the reality of the fact that her brother is dying. Ironically, it is clear that Fonda has been Dad's favorite all her life and she doesn't seem to connect this fact to some understanding that each was loved by both parents and each was the favorite of one of those parents. Fonda's character also demonstrates the fear of AIDS and a basic homophobia in her refusal to bring her son to meet Danny.

Whoppie Goldberg the superstar of many different performance mediums plays a particularly understated role in this film as Danny's home nurse. She portrays a quiet, understanding, wise woman. One of her most beautiful scenes is her explaining very calmly to Danny's mom that the matter of fact is that DANNY IS DYING and the best his mother can do at this point IS TO LOVE HIM! She then brings Close to the comfort zone of being able to touch her son. A truly beautiful minor scene but among the most memorable.

This is not a date movie. Danny indeed dies at the end. His sister doesn't raise a degree of her freezer-bound personality yet Mom and Dad seem to come closer through the death. There is a promise of the hope of their having a more open and freely loving relationship as a result of the darkness which Danny's sickness and death brought to their home.

Danny portrayed by Sean Patrick Leonard is outstanding. He is a sensitive nice guy; not a gay clone and not someone who would be tagged as gay upon meeting him. A lesson in itself for the viewers who believe all gay people look and act alike and are always so obvious. The story is much less about Danny's sexuality than in his coming to terms with lost opportunities for communication with his family in the past. In many ways Leonard is as supportive to his mom in his dying as she is for him. The relationship between the two is never cloying but simply an opportunity for two people who are not naturally open communicators to finally come to a beautiful place of open-ness to one another.

Christopher Reeve, in this his directorial debut, has selected an excellent forum in the story of "In the Gloaming." He does a wonderful job in it's direction and overall portrayal. I hope he continues to be as astutely sensitive in his future directorial efforts.

In the Gloaming is a story for whole families. It is a story much about why we need to openly communicate with others -- all the time -- most especially with those we are so closely bound to; our family members! It is also a story which teaches about ways in which we can be present to others when we are simply helpless to change the course of events that their lives are taking. We, despite our own helplessness, can learn the importance of presence and communication without sympathy. Beautful lessons that go much beyond the AIDS pandemic.

Daniel J. Maloney ... Read more