Over the weekend, “That Evening Sun” star Hal Holbrook took the Excellence in Acting award at the Starz Denver Film Festival over the weekend. When the press release landed in my inbox, it reminded me that, while I’ve been a pretty strong proponent of Patterson Hood’s original song from the film, I haven’t written about Holbrook’s performance all that much.
It’s a beautiful piece of work. Holbrook adds every ounce of texture, nuance, authenticity and depth that Clint Eastwood was woefully lacking in the similarly themed “Gran Torino” last year, but it’s unfair to start with a comparison, I guess. Holbrook nails ornery to a T, and he seems to be able to work the natural rhythms of southern conversation better than anyone other than maybe Robert Duvall.
Susan King recently talked to the actor, who said working on Sean Penn’s “Into the Wild” gave him confidence. And not to be SO 2007, but he offers some high praise for the actor/director in the piece.
This year’s Telluride fest is slowly gearing up. There are a handful of press screenings this afternoon and the opener, Marco Bellochio’s “Vincere,” is set to play at 5:00pm. I’ll probably miss that in order to take in “The Last Station,” which if it picks up a buyer, could make good on awards potential for Christopher Plummer and James McAvoy.