Customer Reviews

Twilight: Music From The Motion Picture

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This review refers to "Twilight" (VHS/Paramount)....

Paul Newman knows a thing or two about playing a private eye. Remember "Harper" and "The Drowning Pool"? In "Twilight", he's Harry Ross(funny it should be another "H" name, to add to his list), an on the wagon, ex-cop, turned ex-private eye. He's holed up at the home of an ailing Jack, and Catherine Ames, once bright and shining movie stars. The Ames', by the way, are Gene Hackman and Susan Sarandon.

Harry has been doing odd jobs for the Ames', and he's about to handle the oddest. Jack asks Harry to deliver a package. Don't worry, he says, a simple task, no guns needed. Well, this simple task unleashes a web of 20 year old secrets and lies that could ruin lives and take a few in the process. And yes, a gun would come in real handy for Ross, who comes out of retirement to solve the case. And... who do you trust?... becomes the big question for him.

It's a real treat to see Newman in this quiet but deadly thriller, unraveling a murder mystery, that has dead bodies and danger at every turn. Sarandon and Hackman are in top form as they try to protect themselves from their own past. Director Robert Benton("Places In The Heart"/"Kramer Vs. Kramer"), seems to be paying homage to the noir of yesteryear, and does it with a wonderful flair for the genre.

Stockard Channing, Reese Witherspoon, James Garner, Giancarlo Esposito, Liev Schreiber, John Spencer and M. Emmet Walsh, add their wonderful talents to the story. The music, by Elmer Bernstein completes the feel of this Hollywood mystery.

This VHS edition presents a nice picture(full screen), and very good sound in Stereo. You may want to keep the remote handy as there are more than 10 minutes of previews at the beginning of the tape. The film is rated R for some violence, and nudity.

Catch these legends all together, in one time, in one place. "Twilight" in Tinsletown!

Get the popcorn ready and enjoy....Laurie

also recommended:
Empire Falls (Every Small Town Has a Big Story) Vol. 1
The Outrage

Director Robert Benton 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 and life experience 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. The favor 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 Ames' spoiled little brat Mel (Reese Witherspoon) brought him some bad luck a few years prior on a case 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 role.

Benton has added enough humor to the story to give 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.

It is James Garner who truly shines as the old pal of Harry and Jack, Raymond Hope. Garner always makes it look so natural and easy his performance sometimes gets overlooked. He is really great here and the interplay between he and Newman as they discuss growing older and the events taking place are priceless. It may seem clear what happened twenty years ago but it is the relationships that drive this story and the ones that are shattered forever when Harry finally peels away the gray to reveal the black and white.

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 you're 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 owning.

I can't believe how much people focus on Paul Newman in this movie. Gene Hackman is great. 70 year old actors are more capable than younger actors. Susan Sarandon looks wonderful... Stockard Channing has a great chemistry with Paul Newman. This movie will take you away to a place where loyalty still means something and people care about each other. James Gardner plays his part well. I don't like to reveal too much with a mystery, the other supporting characters are good. This is a gritty, true to life mystery. Reese Witherspoon was very fortunate to have this as one of her first movies, anyone with any sense would have taken their clothes off to work with this cast! She plays the spoiled daughter well. It compares to LA Confidential in my experience...

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.

Admittedly Robert Benton's neo noir "Twilight" suffers from leaden pacing and a script that lacks any real suspense or suprise (two invaluable ingredients in the genre). It also possesses a strange similarity to Arthur Penn's excellent "Night Moves" (also starring Gene Hackman).

That said, "Twilight" proves a most effective small film that benefits from an excellent cast playing at the top of their game.

Robert Benton has always worked wonders with an ensemble cast and ,in "Twilight", he continues his excellent track record as an "actor's" director. Benton's willingness to sit back and let some of films' greatest artists work their magic makes much of the aforementioned pacing issues almost a moot point. Gene Hackman, Susan Sarandon and the always excellent and grossly underrated James Garner all turn in subtle performances here. It really is a sheer privilage and joy watching these veteran masters spin their polished craft. A young Reece Witherspoon and Liev Schriebner also turn in fine performances.

Of course at the center of "Twilight" stands the beautiful artist Paul Newman. Few actors in Hollywood history have consistently turned in as many excellent peformances. Newman proves yet again that a superb actor can transcend a less than stellar script.

This is an actor's film. Anyone craving watching a concert of well tuned instruments played by masters need to look no further. None of the performances are Oscar worthy, which makes them all the more special. Sometimes the best acting occurs when the audience cannot see the wheels spinning and the strings pulling.

Along with gorgeous cinematography, "Twilight" with its fine performances is a sleeper well worth seeing.

Twilight is basically a tribute to Ross MacDonald, with Newman playing an older version of the world weary private eye he portrayed in The Drowning Pool. But the script is literate and intelligent, the direction is laudably straightforward, and the cast -- Newman, Gene Hackman, Susan Sarandon, James Garner, Stockard Channing, Liev Schrieber -- is to die for.

Despite the star power on display, Garner steals the movie with a wonderfully understated performance. His last scene with Newman is heart-breaking, and Garner brings to it a dignity that matches Newman's own.

Not the most action-packed thriller of the last few years, but one of the best.

Twilight is like an NBC Sunday Night TV B-movie with marquee, A-list stars. Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman, Stockard Channing, Reese Witherspoon and James Garner to name a few, not to mention the collaboration of Robert Benton and Richard Russo (who brought Newman's '94 Oscar-nominated Nobody's Fool to screen).

Twilight not only has a sensational cast of screen legends and actors in the making, although Witherspoon's performance is not all that grand (despite a nude scene), still desplays a rich, character-driven murder mystery that keeps you intrigued until the end. Twilight is by no means a flawless movie--it's finale is all-too-convenient, Sarandon's material-possession battery scene is hokey, etc. But the old-fashioned feeling the film gives is astounding, one in which Bogart himself indeed would feel right at home with. It allows the viewer with such a dialogue that you don't see often anymore, for example the difference between what famous quote came from whom and self-correction. Newman's character is charming on paper but even at seventy-five the man brings the words to utter charm, for example a scene between Sarandon and him.

Sarandon: Harry, a lot of women wear Bal A Versailles!

Newman: Yeah, but it smells different on them.

If you are a fan of any of the film's lead stars or are in the mood for an old-fashioned movie, this is a can't miss. But if you are looking for edge-of-your-seat suspense, explosions and lots of shoot-outs, you had better buy "Heat" or "One True Thing." The film's DVD kind-of blows, but the preview is nice and the non-anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer is surprisingly good.

There is a terrific cast here, and their acting is as good as usual. The story is good enough to keep you interested, but not really any better than a typical episode of some old detective show like the Rockford Files or Hart to Hart. It's not really about solving the crime from clues, but just Newman getting involved in murders and beat up, and I figured out who the real bad guy was right away. But if you're a fan of Paul Newman, Gene Hackman, Susan Sarandon, Stockard Channing, or James Garner, you'll get to see good acting by all of them. And even if you're not, you'll get to see both Sarandon and Reese Witherspoon naked in the same movie.

"Twilight" is an underrated gem, a modern classic that too few people have heard of and fewer seem to have seen. I usually get blank stares when I recommend it, but hear the movie's praises once people have watched it. If you're a fan of film noir, private eyes, mysteries or the trio of lead actors (Paul Newman, Gene Hackman and Susan Sarandon), "Twilight" should definitely take a spin in your DVD player.

It's the best "modern-day" film noir I've seen, and it proudly wears its noir origins on its sleeve. Whether it's Harry Ross' voice-over narration ("The door was unlocked, so I let myself in..." as he breaks the glass panel), or the cast itself (Newman played a variation of Lew Archer in two films, and James Garner played Rockford, as well as Philip Marlowe). The Amazon.com reviewer is right on the money. "Twilight" could have come out of 1940s or 1950s Hollywood.

And that's another ace up its sleeve. The plot is rich, but its themes are very simple. Love, jealousy, betrayal...murder. Such a tale could have been spun by Chandler, Hammett or MacDonald, and it's refreshing in an era of thrillers that love nothing more than to chuck out the plot of the movie in favor of a "gotcha!" twist ending. "Twilight" builds to its devastating climax, with each step taking us closer to the end, and bringing that ending into focus.

It's a relatively action-lite movie, with a pair of gunfights (and even they aren't all that intense). But the mystery is the draw here...if you want shoot-outs, look elsewhere. Besides, they would only distract from the meat of the movie: the acting and the crackling dialogue. Newman is surrounded by a top-notch cast, and virtually every cast member gets a chance to verbally spar with Harry Ross. Whether it's the dangerously flirtatious midnight conversations with Susan Sarandon, or the wry musings on aging and the past with James Garner and Gene Hackman, everyone shines. Characters who only make a brief appearance (Giancarlo Esposito, the late John Spencer, a young Liev Schrieber) make strong impressions on the viewer, the perfect marriage of a strong script and talented actors.

I'll avoid a plot summary, because I think it's better to go in and watch the mystery unfold around you, but I will say that the story doesn't cheat with you. The characters are real, tangibly real, and it makes what happens to them resonate with the audience. I'd suggest a rental, but with the cheap price on Amazon (and the fact that you'll want to see it again) I recommend a purchase of "Twilight."

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.