TWILIGHT A film review by David N. Butterworth Copyright 1998 David N. Butterworth
**1/2 (out of ****)
After "Nobody's Fool" (the low-key, unsullied Paul Newman drama from 1994, not the Rosanna Arquette romantic "comedy" from 1986), I had high hopes for "Twilight," the latest film to team director Robert Benton with the man whose salad dressing has become a staple in my household.
Benton's "Nobody's Fool" was a thoughtful, satisfying, small-town drama which, along with Newman's typically fine work, was tempered by a couple of standout performances from the unlikely guises of Bruce Willis and Melanie Griffith. In his first film since then, Benton has assembled another first-rate cast headed up by Newman, Susan Sarandon, and Gene Hackman. But this small-time film noir, about an ex-cop turned private investigator, turned retiree, turned drunk, is remarkably--and disappointingly--ordinary.
You can't fault the performances though.
Sarandon and Hackman, who play fading movie stars Jack and Catherine Ames, are as solid and dependable as you'd expect from two performers with over fifty films each to their credit. Newman, too, is as every bit believable as Harry Ross, the ex-P.I. who lives with the Ames family and for whom he does occasional odd jobs. Jobs such as heading down to Puerta Vallarta to retrieve their teenage daughter Mel, played awkwardly and toplessly in the opening scenes by the up-and-coming Reese Witherspoon.
"Finding her was the easy part" Harry intones in the film's noirish voiceover and, as it turns out, he was right. This transaction sets up a boorish running gag about Harry being accidentally shot in the, ahem, inner thigh.
But it's his next gig (since nobody's fool enough to buy the "retired" line) that lands him in even hotter water; Harry finds himself the unwitting focus of a murder investigation.
The film pours on the supporting cast like there's no tomorrow but I took great delight in seeing Liev Schreiber (from "The Daytrippers"), then M. Emmet Walsh, then Stockard Channing, then James Garner, then Giancarlo Esposito, then John Spencer, all popping up and contributing to the proceedings. It's the proceedings that just aren't all that special.
"Twilight" is a moody gumshoe tale that, although well acted, doesn't really take off. The plot's twists and turns, if you can call them that, aren't particularly riveting, and the substance of the piece, while tried and true, seems almost too tried and true. It's always fun watching Newman, Sarandon, and Hackman--even though they've all done better work elsewhere--as well as the supporting players but the writing (by Benton and Richard Russo) is, sadly, tepid and uninvolving.
There's not enough mystery, intrigue, or depth to make the film play like something from the pen of Dashiell Hammett. And there's not enough style or atmosphere for it to rank alongside such noir classics as "Chinatown," "The Maltese Falcon" or yes, even "L.A. Confidential" (nor do I believe it's even aiming that high).
No, "Twilight" has much smaller aspirations. Unfortunately small, as it does here, often amounts to less.
-- David N. Butterworth dnb@mail.med.upenn.edu
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