Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

tieman64 This is a brief review of "Nobody's Fool" (1994) and "Twilight" (1998), two films by director Robert Benton, both starring Paul Newman.The better of both films, "Nobody's Fool" stars Newman as Donald Sullivan, an elderly man who lives in small-town America. Perpetually down on his luck, "Fool's" first act watches as Sullivan struggles to claim unpaid wages. For the next hour, things only get worse for Sully: he loses bets, loses money, almost loses his leg, is revealed to be estranged from his family and gets thrown into jail.The film's great joke, though, is that Sully is never sullen. Always giving as good as he gets, Sully repeatedly steals machinery from his boss, and flirts with his bosses wife (Melanie Griffith). As the film progresses, we the audience also begin to appreciate just how many people rely upon the "unlucky" Sully, how lucky they are to have him in their lives, and how upstanding a guy he is when compared to many others in his community.Which is not to say Sully is without flaws. Indeed, "Nobody's Fool's" climax features the usual "improvements" and "reconcilliations" typical of the genre. Sully learns to be a better man, a better father, and attempts to correct mistakes in others he once committed himself. This is all painfully routine. Where the film shines is in Newman's lovable performance, Benton's ceaselessly witty dialogue, and his willingness to sympathise with major and minor characters which lesser films typically villainize.Released four years later, "Twilight" again stars Newman. This time he plays Harry Ross, an ex-cop and one-time private detective. Like "Nobody's Fool", the film's first act watches as Newman damages his leg. Again like "Nobody's Fool", the film then begins to question the impotency and disloyalty of its lead character.Throughout "Twilight", Newman plays a now familiar archetype: the ageing private detective. He's an old timer, washed up, and mocked by all. To make matters worse, everyone believes that Ross lost his penis in a gunfight. Ross' presumed impotency is mirrored to the film's other ageing characters: a washed up actress (Susan Sarandon) in her twilight years, and a dying actor (Gene Hackman), both of whom are friends with Ross. The film's moral dilemma hinges around all three characters. Did Hackman and Sarandon collude to kill a man, is Ross helping them, and more importantly, will he cover-up a murder to protect a friend? To say anymore would be to spoil the fun."Twilight" is set in California, home of many great sun-bleached noirs. It's also home to Benton's earliest noir, "The Late Show", a 1977 feature which starred Art Carny as Ira Wells, an ageing private detective who, like Harry Ross, is accused of being long past his sell-by date. Both films allow their ageing heroes one final blaze of glory. Both films are also unable to transcend the conventions of their genre. "Twilight's" climax in particular is rife with clichés.7.5/10 - See "Cutter's Way" and "Flesh and Bone" (1993).

Prismark10 Twilight is a slow burn modern film noir. A more laid back version of LA Confidential. The first scenes feature a young Reese Witherspoon and Liev Schreiber in Mexico with Paul Newman that leaves Newman injured. We then go forward a few years.Harry Ross (Newman) is a down on his luck detective with an injury and not much money. He lives in California in the guest quarters of Witherspoon's wealthy parents who are his old friends and former film industry executives now in the twilight of their years. Jack (Gene Hackman) is dying of cancer and he and Ross pass time playing cards.Jack asks Harry to deliver a package in Los Angeles. When Harry arrives to deliver the package he encounters a shot man named who turns out to be a former detective. This begins a chain of events involving a past case that led to the disappearance of Catherine's (Susan Sarandon) ex- husband.Harry realises that his friends have been deceitful and manipulative of him. His old colleague Raymond (James Garner) tries to persuade Harry to get away from it all.The film is about immoral people who are wealthy and wish to stay ahead and use others for their own means. As a pot boiler its slow, even meandering as there are betrayals and double crosses. What sustains it is the acting and with the four leads and some rising stars you watch it for the actors and the depth they provide.

kenjha Newman, in a role similar to "Harper," is a has-been private detective living with and helping out aging movie actors Hackman and Sarandon. The script is rather convoluted and ultimately less than satisfying. However, it is a pleasure to watch old pros like Newman, Hackman, and Garner, each about seventy at the time of this film. Comparatively, Sarandon and Channing are spry young things in their fifties. The impressive cast also features up-and-coming stars like Witherspoon and Schreiber. Benton, who co-wrote the script, creates a nice atmosphere, aided by one of Bernstein's last scores. Given such an assemblage of talent, the film is a disappointment.

bkoganbing Twilight casts Paul Newman as a former police detective, former private detective now living as a family retainer to glamorous movie star couple Gene Hackman and Susan Sarandon. He's living with them because he was hurt on the job when after being hired to bring back their daughter Reese Witherspoon from running away with Liev Schreiber, Reese accidentally shoots Newman. Don't ask for the circumstances, they have to be seen.Anyway because of what Reese did, Newman is living with her family and one day, he's asked to deliver a package by Hackman to a woman. At the location he finds a fatally shot M. Emmett Walsh still able to shoot at Newman. That sends the whole plot starting which involves the disappearance of a prominent actor and Sarandon's former husband twenty years before.Imagine Philip Marlowe now middle-aged, but entering senior citizenry and you've got Paul Newman in this part. Actually Newman was 74 when he did this role, but could have passed for a dozen years younger. Better still imagine Newman's own Harper which he did in two films and you have a better example.Director Robert Benton assembled a really crackerjack cast in support of those already mentioned. Keep note for James Garner as another retired cop turned private eye, though someone nothing like Jim Rockford, Stockard Channing as Newman's former partner at the LAPD, John Spencer as Channing's boss who would like some explanations as some bodies start to pile up around Newman.Most of all note Margo Martindale who was the woman Newman was supposed to deliver the package to. Note her relationship, personal and professional to at least one other of the cast members. It's a really touching performance of a lonely and frustrated woman.Up to the end of his life, the quality of Paul Newman's work never went down even if he did a clunker or two among his films. Twilight is a perfect example of what I just said.