‘That Evening Sun’ a cold comfort

Ever gone to see a movie and walked away wondering, “Why’d the director do that?”

You’ll have the chance to ask  him yourself if you make it to the Darkside Cinema for the 7 p.m. premiere of “That Evening Sun” on Friday, Feb. 19.

There will be a question and answer session with director Scott Teems and executive producer Larsen Jay after the film. Tickets are $8, and are first come first serve.

Teems and Jay will not actually be present in the theater, but you’ll be able to see them on screen as they answer your questions via Skype, an Internet phone service.

“We do this quite a bit. If it’s someone I know, or someone is local I’ll do a screening for them,” said Paul Turner, owner of the Darkside Cinema. “We do this at all levels.”

A moderator will take questions after the film and pass them on to Teems and Jay, who will not be able to see or hear the audience directly.

“This techno-whiz stuff is cool,” Turner added, “But I want to emphasize that the film will be great on its own.”

“That Evening Sun” is a sad and depressing film, but it’s also very good. It’s the tale of a bitter old man who’s lonely and hasn’t much left in life except the stubborn ability to cling to his memories and his home.

Abner Meecham is the old man, deftly played by Hal Holbrook, a 60-year veteran of the screen, most recently noted in Sean Penn’s “Into The Wild” (2007).

Now at the ripe old age of 85 years, Holbrook doesn’t just have things in common with his character, you’ll sometimes wonder if he’s still acting or if he just so perfectly embodies Meecham that he doesn’t need to.

The film starts with Meecham making his escape from an old folks home. He arrives at the family farm only to find that it’s been rented to the son of a man Meecham used to hate — probably one of many he hated.

While Meecham starts as a likable character, the escape especially draws on your sympathies; once he arrives home he is set adrift between moments of genuine appeal and pure, maddening confusion.

The only thing that keeps Meecham from becoming a part-time villain in his own story is Lonzo Choat, played by Ray McKinnon, the “white trash” father of the family now inhabiting the old farmhouse.

Meecham stays in the old slave-quarters house close by, setting the scene for the across-the-yard back-and-forth battle that makes up much of the film. Though the older man can say and do some truly nasty things, it is always Lonzo who will sink to doing the worst and leave Meecham on the high road.

Meecham’s son Paul isn’t much of a sympathetic character either. In fact, the only character to show  kinship with Meecham is his closest neighbor, Thurl Chessor, played perfectly by Barry Corbin (best remembered as Maurice in the 1990s CBS television series “Northern Exposure”).

A more calm, more complacent version of Meecham, Chessor has also seen most things he knows come and go, but he’s managed to hold on to his own home, and is satisfied to spend most days on his front porch whittling.

Meecham’s true opposite can be found in Pamela Choat, Lonzo’s daughter; while Meecham wants nothing more than to live on his farm again, Pamela only wants to get away. Played by Mia Wasikowska, Pamela is a strong icon of innocence at the far end of the spectrum.

(Wasikowska also plays Alice in Disney’s new “Alice in Wonderland” scheduled to be released March 5, in which she co-stars with Johnny Depp.)

This is not a film about a man’s life of happiness, make no mistake. It is based on the original short story “I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down” by William Gay, a title that is a much better clue that you are about to experience the sad twilight of a man’s life.

The film’s strength lies in great character portrayals that are well-supported by fine music scored as a perfect reflection to the deep surges of emotion in the film.

Through friendships, flashbacks and fights you will see what used to make Meecham happy, and what mistakes he’s made in his life will be laid bare. If you’ve ever  dropped your jaw in silent confusion over something your grandfather did, this is a film that will help you understand what he was thinking.

All together, it will tug at your heart.