TWILIGHT (R)
Directed by Robert Benton Running Time: 110 minutes Originally Released: March 6, 1998
Reviewed by E. Benjamin Kelsey
* * (out of four)
A powerful cast comes together with dulled results in TWILIGHT, four-time Oscar winning writer/director Robert Benton's latest project, about an ex- private investigator who makes a return to his gumshoe days when a simple package delivery turns up a dead body. The ex-P.I. in question (er, questioning? the film is setup as he recounts the events to the police) is Harry Ross (Paul Newman), also a former police officer, husband, and father, who has since gone into retirement and found his purpose in bottles of bourbon. For quite some time, Harry has been living with Jack Ames (Gene Hackman) and his wife, Catherine (Susan Sarandon), a pair of aging Hollywood stars living a reclusive lifestyle in their luxurious estate.
When the terminally-ill Jack asks his old friend to deliver a package, Harry agrees, but when Harry reaches the rendezvous point and finds anything but the expected, he sets out to solve a strange murder mystery. A dead man and a stash of newspaper clippings concerning Catherine, her first husband's mysterious death, and her marriage to Jack, spark Harry's intrigue, but unfortunately the audience isn't as lucky. Without being pulled into the circumstances, we're left almost indifferent as to who, what, why, where, and how any of this came to be. The side plot of a possible love interest between Catherine and Harry seems pointless and irrelevant, while the opening scenes involving Harry's retrieval of the Ames' teenager daughter from a Mexico vacation with an older boyfriend offer nothing but an opportunity for a lame running gag.
James Garner has a supporting role as Raymond Hope, an old friend of Harry's from his days on the police force. Garner completes what should be the most impressive cast capable of receiving the senior citizen discount at Sizzler, but such a boringly low-key film wastes every single one of them. While they all possess a strongly dignified presence onscreen, there is nothing in TWILIGHT for them to sink their teeth into; no chances to boast that their acting abilities have a greater longevity than their hearing abilities. This film unfortunately takes the magnitude of its cast for granted.
Besides unoriginal plot devices and an unfueled storyline, Elmer Bernstein's musical score also misfires, becoming an annoyingly ever-present nuisance. It seems as though one scene may not pass without a symphonic tension builder, when in reality, the scene could be much more affective without it. Musical scores are meant to enhance the emotional stimulations a film creates, not cue them as Bernstein tries to do here.
Playing like L.A. CONFIDENTIAL at a geriatric pace, TWILIGHT is a sub-par example of film noir. No matter how interesting your plot may be, there are crucial elements every story must possess. From elementary school to high school graduation, English teachers try their hardest to teach them to their pupils. Take away just one of these attributes and the story suffers. What's a good story without a climax? What's a good story with no real resolution? TWILIGHT is probably a good example.
April 24, 1998
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