Twilight is a 1998 thriller/Neo-noir film directed by Robert Benton. It stars Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman, Reese Witherspoon, Stockard Channing, and James Garner. The screenplay was written by Benton and Richard Russo, and the original music score was composed by Elmer Bernstein.
Plot
Aging private detective Harry Ross, an ex-cop, is working on a case to return 17-year-old Mel Ames to her home. He tracks down Mel and her boyfriend at a motel. During a struggle with the reluctant runaway, Harry's gun is discharged, striking him in the upper thigh.
Two years go by. Ross is living in the guest quarters of Mel's wealthy parents, Jack and Catherine Ames. They are former film industry bigwigs, now in the twilight of their years. Jack is dying of cancer, and he and Ross pass time playing cards.
One day, Jack asks a favor of Harry -- to deliver a package. It turns out to be the first development in a series of twists and turns in a 20-year-old case involving the disappearance of Catherine's ex-husband.
A man named Ivar is murdered at the proposed meeting place where Harry was to bring the package. Harry is detained by police, including a close friend, Lt. Verna Hollander. At the police station he runs into another old pal and colleague, now retired, Raymond Hope.
Verna and Raymond are both sympathetic because they have heard rumors that Harry was shot two years ago not in the thigh but between the legs. He assures them it isn't true.
Harry has a developing interest in Catherine and ends up in bed with her one night. He also is blackmailed by a prostitute called Mucho, who describes herself as "Mucho Hair, Mucho Tits," and by Mel's old boyfriend, Jeff, now an ex-con.
A dying Jack Ames feels betrayed that Harry has had a fling with his wife. Harry, meanwhile, is forced to face the reality that his friends have been deceitful and manipulative of him.
Raymond Hope tries to persuade Harry to get away from it all, but Harry has figured it out that Hope has been on-the-take and a conspirator in the 20-year-old murder of Catherine's first husband. A showdown ensues in Raymond's glass-walled hillside home.
Cast
Production Notes
The working title for Twilight was "The Magic Hour".[2] Parts of the movie were filmed at the Los Angeles Police Department's Hollywood Division Station house. Many of the police officers seen in the background are not extras, but actual police officers.[3]
Reception
Twilight's budget of $37,000,000 and gross revenue of $15,055,091 indicates that it was a box office bomb. While the film featured many notable A-list actors, many were on the downside (twilight) of their careers by 1998.
Entertainment Weekly critic Owen Gleiberman gave the film a C+ grade. He wrote it was meant to be "...about the relationship between a semiretired gumshoe (Paul Newman) and two veteran movie stars (Gene Hackman and Susan Sarandon)..." but was actually "...about the trio of aging stars who play them."[4]
Barbara Shulgasser of the San Francisco Examiner called it a "dazzlingly smart script by Benton and co-writer Richard Russo." She went on to write: "Twilight is as close to a perfect film as I've seen in a long while."[5]
Heather Clisby of Movie Magazine International described it as "one of those films where everybody involved seems to have actually cared, thus we have a superb product with memorable characters brought to life by some of the finest actors of our time."[6]
DVD
The DVD was released on October 7, 1998 in Widescreen. Features included: English closed captioning, Spanish sub-titles, and the theatrical trailer which included scenes that were not included in the movie.[3][7]
External links
Reviews
References
- Twilight, (1998), Robert Benton, notes from: Widescreen. (EN) Paramount,334957, (1998). ISBN:=0-7921-5291-3
