Twilight (1998 film)

Twilight
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Robert Benton
Produced by	Scott Rudin
Written by	Robert Benton Richard Russo
Starring	Paul Newman Susan Sarandon Gene Hackman Reese Witherspoon Stockard Channing James Garner
Music by	Elmer Bernstein
Cinematography	Piotr Sobocinski
Editing by	Carol Littleton
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release dates	March 6, 1998
Running time	94 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$37 million
Box office	$15,055,091[1]

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 sleazy boyfriend, Jeff Willis, at a Mexican resort. 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 southern California 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 at an address in Lost Angeles. 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.

When Harry arrives to deliver the package, he encounters a man named Ivar, who has just been shot. Harry is detained by police, including a former colleague, 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 that it is not true.

Harry has a developing interest in Catherine and ends up in bed with her one night. He acts as go between for Jack and Catherine, who are being blackmailed by a parole officer he calls Mucho, after she describes herself as "Mucho Hair, Mucho Tits," and by Jeff, now an ex-con.

A dying Jack feels betrayed that Harry has had a fling with his wife. Jack has a heart attack the same night Harry and Catherine sleep together for the first (and only) time; Jack realizes they have been together, because when Catherine comes running to help him, she is wearing Harry's shirt.

Harry, meanwhile, is forced to face the reality that his friends have been deceitful and manipulative of him.

Raymond tries to persuade Harry to get away from it all, but Harry has figured it out that Raymond 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

• Paul Newman as Harry Ross
• Susan Sarandon as Catherine Ames
• Gene Hackman as Jack Ames
• Reese Witherspoon as Mel Ames
• Stockard Channing as Lt. Verna Hollander
• James Garner as Raymond Hope
• Giancarlo Esposito as Reuben Escobar
• Liev Schreiber as Jeff Willis
• Margo Martindale as Gloria Lamar ("Mucho")
• John Spencer as Capt. Phil Egan
• M. Emmet Walsh as Lester Ivar
• Clint Howard as EMS Worker

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 actual police officers.^[3]

Reception

While the film featured many notable A-list actors, Twilight's budget of $37,000,000 and gross revenue of $15,055,091 indicates that it was a box office bomb.

The film received mixed reviews from critics, as it holds a 59% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 54 reviews. The consensus states: "It suffers from a frustratingly deliberate pace, but with nuanced performances from Paul Newman, Gene Hackman, Susan Sarandon and Reese Witherspoon to fall back on, Twilight can't help but be compelling".

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]

References

• Robert Benton (1998) [1998] (Widescreen). Twilight (Liner notes). Paramount. ISBN 0-7921-5291-3. 334957.

External links

• Twilight at the Internet Movie Database
• Twilight at Box Office Mojo
• Twilight at allmovie
• Twilight at Rotten Tomatoes