MovieChat Forums > That Evening Sun (2009) Discussion > Turning point that didn't happen.

Turning point that didn't happen.

posted 12 years ago by haze58
6 replies | jump to latest

I was quite surprised that the movie didn't go where I thought it would.

Meecham tells lonzo he can't even keep the grass cut.

Then the day after the beating of the daughter, we see Lonzo filling the mower and starting to cut the lawn, which I took as the act of man with renewed purpose.

I thought Meecham would spot Lonzo's actual desire to work the farm, and offer to help him make a go at farming.

But then the cops show up, Meecham just watches and gloats, and then the movie went completely downbeat from that point on.

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[–] taylorje 12 years ago

I thought so as well.

[–] EmpireRecrDs1020 12 years ago

I really enjoyed the movie - the performances, the setting - but I, too, felt the ending was lacking. Maybe Lonzo didn't deserve the house as Abner believed, but Ludie and Pamela were good people and it would have been nice to see them finally have a nice home. That being said, it felt like Lonzo had definitely bitten off more than he could chew with a farm of that size. Still, as someone else pointed out, when challenged about the upkeep of the house, he started mowing the lawn and fixing things. I would have liked to see Abner and Lonzo come to an understanding. I would have liked some closure regarding the Choat family because I did care about them. The end is very realistic, because, while people are capable of change, few do. But it would have been nice to see a slightly more hopeful ending. Also, I felt it was ironic that no one ended up with the house they were fighting over - which made me a little sad. The house seemed like a character itself, and now it's empty and alone. :/

[–] remembervhs 11 years ago

I don't think it was downbeat.

The great thing about this movie is that every character is a mixed bag. They're all good and evil, they all have motivations that make sense, and they all misunderstand each other to some degree. I'm not going to list the pros and cons of Lonzo's character, but try to understand how hard it is for a man with his past and his family (we only have to hear Abner say "Croate" to know what kind of family he comes from) to make a stable life for himself.

Croate does some bad things, but this movie didn't have a villain.

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] gearhart 9 years ago

I had some sympathy for Lonzo until he killed the dog. Which is kinda weird, because beating up on Ludie and Pamela should have been what did it for me. I suppose it's because Ludie and Pamela had choices, Nipper didn't.

A turning point might have happened earlier, when Abner first arrived, and Lonzo wouldn't let him come inside. If Abner had seen the house, full of the Choate stuff, he might have started to realize that he couldn't have his old life back.

How long had he been gone? Just three months? I guess that's not enough time.

[–] vegfemnat 8 years ago

I had thought of the exact same thing. But its quite evident the writer deliberately sabotaged the third act to deviate from that predictable path the film was going in. It was built up in a way that our brain would recognize that pattern and then bam!! it just went haywire like a misfired rocket.By the time it finished, my mind was messed up and was longing for a closure it didn't give. And I have to say it really worked. I thought more about the film than I would have if it had the normal ending I had been hoping for.