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33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Fall of Twilight,
By A Customer
This review is from: Twilight [1997] [DVD] (DVD)
Director Robert Benton (Kramer vs. Kramer, Places in the Heart) has crafted a film reminiscent of the 1940's in this complex and character driven film with an ensemble cast of screen veterens and one future star in her first adult role. The mystery is engrossing and the performances are stellar as Benton shows how age sometimes shades the black and white of right and wrong to gray.The story revolves around former P.I. Harry Ross (Paul Newman) attempting to do a favor for Jack Ames (Gene Hackman) that leads to blackmail and murder, and may involve Jack's beautiful wife Catherine Hayward (Susan Sarandon). A twenty year old murder comes into play as well as Harry slips back into a life he left behind when the Ame's spoiled little brat Mel (Reese Witherspoon) brought him some bad luck a few years prior down in Mexico. Newman is terrific as he reluctantly tries to fix things for everyone as the bodies pile up. It's a task that gets more difficult as he gets closer to the truth. The unspoken attraction between he and Catherine is cause for concern as well in this character driven mystery. Stockard Channing gives a nice performance as Harry's old flame Lt. Verna Hollander, and Reese Witherspoon acquits herself nicely in her first adult (she has a nude scene) film. Benton has added some humor to this story also, giving it the feel of reality. This film was not designed for the teen driven box office of today but for the rest of us. It has some terrific performances from the entire cast and some true to life moments. This is a fine film that subtly shows what can happen to people who become used to having everything work out for them. As Garner's character Raymond tells Harry, "There's them, and there's us, Harry." Benton has crafted an old style film that you won't want to miss if your tired of the teen box office fare. It is a mature and thoughtful mystery and a meditation on friendship and growing older. This one is worth watching.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Quality noir with Newman, Hackman, Sarandon, Garner,
By C. O. DeRiemer (San Antonio, Texas, USA) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Twilight [1997] [DVD] (DVD)
For me in the movies, few things are as satisfying as watching two old pros who have the game down cold play a scene together. In Twilight, when the old pros include Paul Newman and Gene Hackman, I can have a very good time. The old pros also include Susan Sarandon and James Garner, in a tale of murder, blackmail and regret.
Harry Ross (Paul Newman) is a retired cop who has been living in Los Angeles with his friends Catherine Ames (Susan Sarandon) and Jack Ames (Gene Hackman). The Ames were big movie stars once, but now Jack Ames is dying of cancer. Catherine Ames first husband disappeared mysteriously twenty years ago. Now it appears Jack and perhaps Catherine are being blackmailed about just what actually happened to the guy. Jack asks Harry to deliver a package of money to a certain address, but when he arrives he finds a retired, corrupt cop who has just been shot. Harry needs to find out what's happening, partly to protect his friends and partly because, in a way, he's been in love with Catherine for a long time. Into the mix is Raymond Hope (James Garner), another retired cop who for years worked as a security man for the movie studio the Ames did much of their work at. He was a well-paid 'clean-up' man. At one point he says, "Don't you ever get tired of all the beautiful people, Harry? Doesn't it ever bother you that they do whatever they want because there're people like you and me who'll clean up after them?" Also around are Liev Schreiber and Margo Martindale as small-time crooks on the make. The story is right out of the Forties noir tradition, with a straight ahead story line, no fancy footwork and a nice 20 year-old mystery combined with current murders. Most of all, the movie has first-rate stars showing why they have star power. When Newman and Hackman play a scene together or when Newman and Garner do, you're getting free lessons in quality technique. There is a low-key tone of sadness and regret about the story...aging, sickness, missed opportunites...which, for me, just adds to the richness. Most of all, however, there is Newman, Hackman, Sarandon and Garner. It may be a little unsettling to realize that their combined ages when they made this movie added up to 263 years, but experience and charm really pay off. I've always liked this movie a lot. The DVD looks just fine.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Things You Don't Think About,
By
This review is from: Twilight [1997] [DVD] (DVD)
The plot is a standard one. Our private detective, Harry Ross, makes a simple delivery for a friend and discovers a murder. Then he discovers several more. The police suspect him, but let him go. He wades through the confusion, taking the occasional beating. Finally, he solves the mystery. Then re-solves it. We've seen the plot before. But this movie isn't great because of the plot. It's the characters.
Excepting a very young Reese Witherspoon, the main characters are all...old. Paul Newman, Gene Hackman, and James Garner are seasoned actors who know their craft and themselves through decades of experience. They use this knowledge to bring a world-weary, knowing depth to their characters. Not-so-old Susan Sarandon and Stockard Channing also invest their characters with this depth of years, their beauty undiminished by it. These people have lived complex lives and learned something from them. They know who they are. They know each other, too. You can hear it in how they talk, the abbreviated references to shared events and sadly remembered friends. You can hear it in the silences. There are silences of understanding, when nothing needs saying. And there are silences of considered restraint, when something is thoughtfully left unsaid. ("You haven't apologized to me," complains Gene Hackman. "You haven't been listening," Paul Newman chides in return.) My favorite exchanges between Paul Newman and James Garner occur while they seem to be resting from previous scenes' exertions. Their words are sometimes blunt, sometimes carefully incomplete, always casual, yet rich with reference and understated implication. These men understand each other with fewer words than younger men use. They haven't the energy or the need to say more. See this movie with someone you think you know well. It may give you something to talk about. Or carefully not talk about.
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