Glenn Close, looking elegant and angular (like an ivory sculpture), manages to bring some substance to this sentimental weeper about an AIDS-infected young man who returns to his estranged family's country estate to die. His repressed father and "yuppie" sister are infuriating stock figures, though the boy manages to clear the air with his mother, and their conversations have a sweet sensibility. This cable-made directorial debut from Christopher Reeve gleams with good taste; from the (annoying) Celtic music courtesy Dave Grusin--which ties in with the film's title--to the autumnal locations, Reeve and his producers leave nothing ruffled or out of place. Still, this scenario doesn't really satisfy us emotionally. The teleplay sidesteps intimate talk of gay relationships, politics or controversy of any kind. Even the proverbial 'former lover' is kept under wraps. At least 1985's not-dissimilar "An Early Frost" tried to step outside the box and give viewers something to ponder besides hello-and-goodbye hugs. Reeve stages one startling visual scene (the mother's nightmare), which is mainly of note because of its crassness. Reeve quickly reverts to form with a lovely following shot of Close standing outside in the rain, but this aberration does show that he was capable of something other than the proper, low-keyed blandness we get here.
Review of In the Gloaming
