Bringing together an all-star cast, Evening is a moving film that looks at the bonds formed between women at different stages of their lives. Based on the novel by Susan Minot, the film is played out through the eyes of a dying mother as she looks back at the turning points in her own life.

On her deathbed, Ann Lord (Vanessa Redgrave) reveals secrets of her past to her two loyal daughters (Natasha Richardson and Toni Collette). Throughout various conversations, the two siblings often hear their mother calling out for Harris, an unknown man who the girls learn was their mother’s only true love.

Faced with the realization that they do not know a lot about their mother’s past, the sisters start to ask her questions with the little time remaining before her impending death. Through flashback sequences, viewers escape to the early stages of Ann’s life (played by Claire Danes) and witness the episodes that left a lasting impression in her mind.

The film asks the question, can true love last a lifetime after only a brief weekend encounter?

Evening is unique because of the mother-daughter castings in the film. Richardson, as Constance Haverford, is actually Redgrave’s own daughter. Mamie Gummer, cast as Lila Wittenborn, appears opposite her mother, Meryl Steep, who plays Lila later in life.

The lives of the characters in Evening are messy – similar to what life is really like on a day-to-day basis. The film takes a look at the defining choices people make, and the turns that life take from that point forward.

Grade: A

Evening releases in select theaters June 29.