# Twilight (1998)

### reviewed by
Nathaniel R. Atcheson

    Twilight (1998)

Director: Robert Benton Cast: Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman, Stockard Channing, Reese Witherspoon, Giancarlo Esposito, James Garner, Liev Schreiber, M. Emmet Walsh Screenplay: Robert Benton, Richard Russo Producers: Arlene Donovan, Scott Rudin Runtime: 96 min. US Distribution: Paramount Rated R: Violence, language, sex

By Nathaniel R. Atcheson (nate@pyramid.net)

It's not a good sensation to walk away from a film feeling hungry for more. At the end of Twilight, when the image blacked out and I saw the word "Cast" peek up from the bottom of the screen, I was wondering where the other three or four reels had gone. Much to my dismay, it turns out that I saw the whole thing. Twilight is a mystery that runs just over 90 minutes; there are three extremely interesting and well-acted characters that are given a depressingly short amount of time to make their appearances and tell their stories. I can't think of a film that feels more rushed and unexplored as this one.

The first scene is unimpressive, and had me prepared for an overall bad film. Paul Newman stars as Harry Ross, who, in this opening scene, is in Mexico to retrieve a young woman (Reese Witherspoon) who is on vacation with her boyfriend (Liev Schreiber) without the consent of her parents. Things go wrong, and she accidentally shoots him in the leg. The scene is dry and poorly choreographed, and is plagued by an insipid and unoriginal music score.

Fortunately, things pick up a little. We are transported two years past the time depicted in the first scene; we learn that Harry lives with some old friends, wealthy actor/actress couple Jack and Catherine Ames (Gene Hackman and Susan Sarandon). Basically, Harry is Jack's personal private investigator. Jack sends Harry on a job that he describes as "safe"--he must deliver a package to a woman. When Harry arrives at the address, he finds a bleeding man who has been shot (M. Emmet Walsh), and he tries to kill Harry. Quickly, Harry finds himself caught up in a web of criminal activities, and his primary motive in attempting to bring the issues to closure revolves around his wanting to know if the Ames are responsible.

In the end, I found myself disappointed not in the film's execution, but in it's completely limited approach to a situation that is so complex and interesting. Perhaps the best thing about the film is Newman, who is a fantastic, seasoned, and completely engaging performer to watch on screen. He's great here--Harry is funny and well-written, and he has a life outside of what we see. Newman's performance is deep and sympathetic, and he had me hooked immediately--he plays his part like a pro.

Hackman and Sarandon are equally good, and are both given fascinating characters to embody. Jack, who is dying from cancer, is a very flawed individual, but Hackman elicits our sympathy and makes us like him despite some of the things he does. And Sarandon, as the woman who will do anything for her husband, is also excellent: she shows all of the depth and complexity that she did in Dead Man Walking, but in half the screen time. There is also a colorful supporting cast, including James Garner and Stockard Channing.

These characters are so well-written that I simply can't believe writer/director Robert Benton didn't do more with them. Twilight could have been a full hour longer without overstaying its welcome. I wanted to see these people in more situations; I wanted to see them interact with each other more. I wanted to see moments of emotional rage, and moments of quiet, probing tenderness. There are small bursts of all of these things in Twilight, but the moments are so short and yet so tasty that I felt kind of the same way I do when I eat just one potato chip on an empty stomach.

And it doesn't help that there are things here that I didn't like. The subplot involving a delusional man who thinks he is Harry's partner is intrusive and pointless. Much of the dialogue feels forced: in one scene, Witherspoon (who plays the Ames' daughter) meets Harry as he is watching Jack and Catherine cuddle on their bed. "This is their story," she says. "You and I just have bit parts." And while it's a nice comment and probably holds a lot of truth, it feels wrong as dialogue, and is certainly out of place from a girl who we're lead to believe is of questionable intelligence.

It's common to criticize a film because it feels long and tedious; I criticize Twilight because of the opposite. Benton rushes the fascinating story to a premature conclusion, and the result is a film that feels incomplete. The three hours of Titanic feel swift, but we are fulfilled and exhilarated when it's over. The 90 minutes of Twilight feel alarmingly brief--they whet our appetites for a main course that will never arrive.

    ** out of ****
    (5/10, C)

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               Nathaniel R. Atcheson

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