Customer Reviews

Twilight of the Golds

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Even though the premise behind this movie (that scientists can test an unborn fetus for a gene that causes homosexuality) is not possible in our current scientific technology, this is still a really good movie.

In the Gold Family we have the son, David-Brendan Fraser-who is gay. We have the married daughter, Suzanne-Jennifer Beals- who is pregnant with a gay baby. Her husband and her father basically want her to have an abortion. She and her mother are deeply torn over what to do. (Faye Dunaway does a really good job portraying the mother of a gay son. It is obvious that she loves her son, but his lifestyle is very disturbing to her.) Suzanne does not want David to know that she is considering having an abortion because the baby is gay, but the mother tells him anyway. This is where the major melodrama enters. Although, it is understandable that David would be upset that the members of his family are seriously considering that it would be a good thing for Suzanne to abort her baby just because he is gay--because then he has to wonder: "well would they have aborted me if they had known that I was going to end up gay." When he asks his parents what they would have done if they had known in his situation, he gets a very hurtful response from his father and an ambivalent and non-straight-forward answer from his mother. This is of course very painful for David and he basically cuts off all contact with his family at this point.

Suzanne's husband comes off as the real jerk in this movie because he does not act at all sympathetic or understanding of the emotional turmoil and trauma that his wife is going through while she is trying to decide what is the best/right thing to do. The mother and father, while they are having a very hard time dealing with their son's lifestyle are still portrayed in a sympathetic manner. Suzanne is portrayed in a very realistic manner. It would be hard for any mother to deal with the knowledge that the baby she is carrying is gay--which raises what I see as being the main issue of the movie--that we should never actually develop and use this kind of technology--where we can tell whether or not a baby will be gay before it is born. This is definitely a case where ignorance is bliss, therefore, it is definitely best not to know.

I just really liked this movie because it is a very thoughtful and touching movie that raises many issues that society needs to deal with. Brendan Fraser is adorable in this movie, and I also really liked his boyfriend-he was sweet and supportive.

The other reviews describe the story line and what I would have to say beyond the basics is how fantastic every aspect of this film is. The acting in top quality, the production quality is excellant and the story is magnificent. It was refreshing to see a movie that is not about HIV, coming out, sexual over activity or hiding who you are. The gay rolls are played with confidence and honor. A top quality roll model for expanding the concepts of what it is to be gay. I give this film the highest marks and strongly recommend it to everyone!! Oscar quality 100% in my humble opinion.

Based on the play by Jonathan Tolins, who also wrote the screenplay for this movie, THE TWILIGHT OF THE GOLDS grapples with this ethical question: would you abort a male fetus that science says has a 90% chance of being gay? This is the dilemma facing Jennifer Beals and her doctor husband. To further complicate matters, her only brother-- played by Brandan Fraser--is gay. When forced by Fraser to say how he stands on this heartwrenching situation, his father retorts that Fraser essentially is sick. While such a statement from any parent doesn't make for a good day for any child, gay or straight, there really are no villains here, just decent though at times misguided people struggling to do what they think is right and what they can live with.

Such a plot obviously makes for real emotion, and the acting in general is superb althought I thought Faye Dunaway at times did a bit of overacting. Both Fraser and Beals give excellent performances. (The British movie director John Schlesinger has a minor part as a doctor/scientist.)

I believe that Brandan Fraser is a young actor that is on his way up. He is multi talented as being an serious actor or comedian. He proved it again in this heard breaking movie, where a family has to over come there individual sexual prefrence. It's a must see movie if you are a Fraser fan.

A terrific and touching film that addresses provocative issues of family dynamics and societal mores with substantial realism.

It is also cinematically interesting: the "home-movie" effects, the digitized repetition of gestures, the evocative slow-motion work, the Wagner "opera queen" stereotyping and story-within-a-story gimmicks (although I thought the allegorical analogies were a stretch), and the play on words of the last opera with the film's own title.

Highly effective characterization was provided by just about everyone involved, including the charming but relentlessly cheerful Rosie O'Donnell employer/coworker, with her sadly ironic and poignant revelation. I found the central figure of the sister quite appealing and also VERY sympathetic in her existential dilemma, and could not bring myself to loathe her husband despite his anti-gay bias because he was simply too multidimensional a human being to "demonize". In other words, he had some very good qualities to balance him out, regardless of the tediously typical American-male machismo element. Really he wasn't so bad, just your average Joe with an unaggressive aversion to queers, the hapless product of a hetero-dominated society.

Frankly, this is about the best acting I've seen from Brandon Fraser and the best vehicle for his considerable abilities (all those dopey comedies, such a waste), his gay mannerisms are done with subtlety and good taste; Dunnaway is positively splendid, pithy but not overdoing the "Jewish mother". She delivers one of the best and funniest lines of her career to perfection; in 2 short sentences Mrs Gold reduces the "medical profession" to its bare essentials. I thought I would fall out of my chair!

In short, highly recommended.

Tightly woven drama of an upper middle class Jewish family revolving around the discovery that their unborn grandchild has a 90% chance of being gay. Compounding matters is the lack of acceptance of their already gay son David (Brendan Fraser). Despite all, this film is not so much about morality and ethics as it is about the meaning of unconditional love. The title of the film comes from the wagnerian opera "Die Gotterdammerung" which David (Fraser) is trying to produce. In this piece within a piece, where Sigfried tries to go through the mystical fire of the magic ring, the family sees itself "tested" by the fire of their ordeal. Should Suzanne (Beals) abort the child? does this make her a horrible person? How does David (Fraser) feel seeing his family ponder these issues?..... Faye Dunaway, Garry Marshall and Jennifer Beals give award winning performances. The hauntingly nostalgic score emphasizes the sense of high drama. Not a date movie but one which should be seen by everyone, regardless of gender and sexual orientation.

I usually buy lots of "gay" DVDs from [here] at the same time, to view them at my home in Paris, France.

I must confess that "The Twilight of the Golds" was the last DVD of the set I received that I chose to play. I feared it might too intellectual or not fun at all.

I was wrong! The acting is good and the topics still relevant : if genetics could determine that your future child wil be gay, would keep it or not ?

It is not over melo-dramatic and the subject is treated with sensitivity.

Not all plays should be made into films as they existed on stage. This is one that happily was.

The premise is a telling one that could apply to many other situations:
What if you could tell whether your unborn child was going to be gay? Would you abort it?

With actors as powerful as Faye Dunaway, Brendan Fraser, Garry Marshall, and others, this is not only a well made, wonderfully scripted film, but one that is powerfully acted.

Because of its subject matter, films of this ouevre do not get wide theatrical release. It is for connisours of "little" films, like me, to realize their greatness and discover them on our own. (it's usually a 50/50 shot as to whether they're any good).

Rent this film and see what you think. It's is a bit talky, but that's because they used the stage script for the film. It doesn't detract from the film, but because there isn't any gratuituous violence or neat CGI effects, you may find it a bit distracting at first.

I thought this movie was very well acted. It dealt with some very touchy issues for most people. When David, played by Brendan Fraser, finds out his sister is carrying a baby who will probably be gay it leaves him questioning his own homosexuality. After asking his parents what they would have done if they had know he was gay and getting a very hurtful response he cuts off all ties with them and his sister.
It poses the question, "does my life have meaning?". Also the issues of genetic testing are explored as well as abortion.

Based on a play on which the premise that the 'gay' gene can be detected pre-birth, the film actually uplifts you to familiar family relationships territory - and Faye Dunaway is the Star in there. Tough decisions to be made (pro-choice/pro-life) feature, as well; and Rosie O'Donell beats Jennifer Beals to the finishing line. The Ultra-Ortodox(or is it merely Ortodox?, pardon me) in-laws of Jennifer Beals' charachter cannot take more than a minute, but they depict a whole gone world of pre-nazi Europe.
The ending will come up to your gleeful expectations - but that's such a bonus nowadays you'll only cry yourself to sleep in joy! Watch it this season! Every season!