Disturbing yet enthralling

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Blistering performances.

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.

Heavyweight stars working on a weightless plot yet doing some good for us and themselves. That can be said of many movies and also about "Twilight". No, this isn't Team Edward or Team Jacob, it's a film noir about wrapped in secrets, ghosts from the past and some skeletons in the closet (more like on a swimming pool!). On the front seat of this we have the team Paul Newman and director Robert Benton, re-teaming after the successful "Nobody's Fool"; and the amazing passengers of this are Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman, James Garner, Stockard Channing, Giancarlo Esposito, Reese Witherspoon, Liev Schreiber, John Spencer, Margo Martindale and M. Emmet Walsh (horribly reduced to a pivotal role but with no speaking lines). Newman plays Harry, a veteran private detective in the twilight of his career and years, decadent and living of favors in the house of Jack Ames, a dying veteran actor (Hackman) and his wife (Sarandon), also an actress, doing some jobs here and there for them, covering up their dirt. Then, during one of those "jobs", after almost getting killed by another detective, he decides to check out what's behind the many out-coming mysteries which are appearing on his way, things that might have to do with his past and also things from the past of his bosses/friends. Favorable point for him: the unusual help of a sidekick (Esposito) - in terms of script kind of strange but it works well. Low point for him: flames getting higher between him and Ames wife; her brat daughter (Witherspoon) whose purpose is to put the man down just because she doesn't like him, due to an incident involving her boyfriend (Schreiber). Fine movie but quite cheap if you think about all the elements involved. Quite simplified as noir don't tend to be, convoluted in so many dialogs and never all that interesting or clever, "Twilight" begs for our attention but doesn't give much in return. When you see the mystery close of getting solved, already figuring out who's the bad guy, you end up asking yourself "Why should I care about this story?". Well, you should care but the movie doesn't impels you in such direction. You're there for the actors and that sometimes works replacing the excitement, the thrills, the action, everything that is missing here. While it feeds us with Newman giving an outstanding performance, it doesn't offer much when it comes to show the other actors, most of them reduced to a few scenes (Garner stands out with perfection though). Once again we see Newman's character trying to show he can hit the top of his craft even though he's not fast and younger as before, realizing that things have changed but he still can find a way to do something. But he played this several times before and in better projects ("The Verdict", "Nobody's Fool" and his Oscar winning Eddie Felson in "The Color of Money"). Sarandon brings lots of sensuality in her role but at times it seems director Benton and his writing partner Richard Russo are forcing things far too much when it comes to presenting those sexy moments. Hackman was a little underused in this, but presents some class act during his first scenes. Conclusion: it's not fun as it could and should be but it's watchable. Rare times a good team like this were gathered and could make something decent out of a movie. 7/10

Not the terrible 'Teen Vampire' nonsense but an excellently acted 'Noir' with Paul Newman as an over the hill retired ex-cop and former private eye who resides with a actor friend (Gene Hackman) who is dying from cancer and his seductive actress wife (Susan Sarandon) Newman is requested by Hackman to run an 'errand' unbeknown to him he becomes embroiled in murder. He stumbles into a mysterious 20 year old case which deals with the disappearance of Sarandon's former husband. 'Twilight' has an excellent cast, on top of having Hackman, Sarandon, theirs an appearance from James Garner, who also has shady dealings. Liev Schrieber and Reese Whitherspoon also appear the latter contributes a revealing nude scene at the beginning.

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.