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Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman, Reese Witherspoon, Stockard Channing ... see more see more... , James Garner , Giancarlo Esposito , Liev Schreiber , Margo Martindale , John Spencer , M. Emmet Walsh

The Nobody's Fool (1994) team of Paul Newman, director Robert Benton, and scripter Richard Russo reassembled for this L.A. detective drama, beginning with a Puerto Vallarta prologue showing private ey... read more read more...e Harry Ross (Newman) accidentally shot by 17-year-old Mel Ames (Reese Witherspoon) during his efforts to get her to return home. Two years later, the broke and divorced Ross lives in a garage apartment on the estate of Mel's parents, his movie-star friends Jack and Catherine Ames (Gene Hackman and Susan Sarandon). The cancer-ridden Jack is not unaware that Harry is attracted to Catherine. Delivering a package for Jack, Harry encounters elderly Lester Ivar (M. Emmet Walsh), who shoots at Harry and then dies. Harry's curiosity is provoked when he discovers that Ivar was an investigator checking into the disappearance of Catherine's first husband, written off 20 years earlier as an unsolved case, but now reactivated as Harry's sleuth-work leads him on a trail of past crimes and cover-ups. The Ames residence is actually the former Cedric Gibbons-Delores Del Rio home, and a never-completed Frank Lloyd Wright house near Malibu served as the Ames' ranchhouse. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

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33% liked it

3,874 ratings

Critics

59% liked it

54 critics

R, 1 hr. 34 min.

Directed by: Robert Benton

Release Date: March 6, 1998

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DVD Release Date: October 6, 1998

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Flixster Reviews (139)

  • jjnxn
    July 22, 2011
    jjnxn
    Cast is far above the material in this throwback try at a noir in color. If you like any of the actors worth checking out.
  • Deano78
    December 5, 2009
    Deano78
    A decent slow paced thriller, more of a detective story really. It has a great cast Gene Hackman, Susan Sarandon, Paul Newman and a very early, memorable role for Reese Witherspoon. If you like detective stories and a plot with a slight twist you might like this, but it could do ... read morewith a bit more action at least. It seems to have slipped by most people but it's worth a watch if it's on.
  • bbcfloridabound
    July 29, 2009
    bbcfloridabound
    Twilight: There is a number of movies out there with the title just plain Twilight, they seem to come out every few years. This is not the 2009 Vampire Movie Twilight. This is the 1998 Twilight Movie with Paul Newman, Gene Hackman, Resse Witherspoon, James Garner and Stockard Cha... read morenning. Director Robert Benton has crafted a film reminiscent of the 1940's. With this lineup you expect a great movie and that?s what you get. Remember keep your mind open to the fact it was filmed in 1998 and not 2008. Newman plays the part of a ex-cop now Private Detective who retires after being shot by Hackman?s Daughter. The film opens with P.I. Harry Ross (Paul Newman) down in Mexico tracking down the minor daughter of Jack Ames (Gene Hackman), they wrestle and she gets Newman's gun and shoots him in the leg, so sets up the fact that Newman lives in Hackman?s guess house doing odd jobs for him. One job is Newman is handed an envelope and told to give it to female at an address, he goes there only to find a wounded man with a pistol, so starts the twisted mystery with more turns then a Californian Mountain Road. Its an excellent movie that should be seen by all. 4 stars.
  • husky10000years
    March 6, 2008
    husky10000years
    So many good actors and actresses, but the movie is a total "flop". The book Twilight by Stephenie Meyer is more better than this movie.
  • kylemydude
    July 1, 2010
    kylemydude
    In this faithful adaptation, Bella is played by Susan Sarandon, Edward by Paul Newman, and Jacob by Gene Hackman. This film is a masterpiece on all fronts, you really relate to Sarandon's character as she has to decide who she wants to be her boyfriend for an entire two hours. Do... read moren't miss this gem of a film, when else will you get to see Gene Hackman as a shirtless werewolf?
  • TonyPolito
    August 22, 2010
    TonyPolito
    Neo-noir it is, but not anywhere near the hard-bit or shadowy styling that fans of the genre typically crave. This film's tributing the genre as it fades away, rather than actually recreating it. In parallel, it tributes its stellar leads whom, in terms of age at least, are here ... read morewell into the twilight of their own careers.

    And the plot parallels, revolving around a pack of Hollywood old-timers - a retired PI (Newman), his old pal (Garner) and two long-forgotten film stars (Hackman & Sarandon) - who find skeletons suddenly tumbling out of their closets in the evening of their lives. Skeletons that turn them all against one another.

    Sarandon's the femme fatale; Channing's the police sergeant chewing yet respecting Newman. Witherspoon's the bratty daughter; her career not yet established, she was surely humbled in such company.

    Pacing is slow, characterization is shallow and dialogue isn't sparring exposition, starkly contrasting the genre being honored. Rather the film is intentionally haunted by references to age and past. As such, the viewer is being invited to gently savor what this mature genre was, to admire how aged talented actors ably and easily slip into their roles, to behold how much accomplishment such a twilight can hold.

    The camera drifts nostalgically over an LA gone by - Santa Monica Pier, Hollywood Regency lamps, all-night newsstands, Mid-Century architecture - all subtly displayed as also well past their own primes, a part of some long-lost Golden Age.

    All of the basic noir elements are here, but they do not entertain, nor were they intended to do so. Instead, the film's not unlike a long quiet moment spent taking in the sunset the title implies - a sunset upon a certain part of Hollywood's past, its talent and one of its most admired genres.

    RECOMMENDATION: For film buffs, well spent meditation.

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Critic Reviews

Kenneth Turan
February 14, 2001
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

Despite its pluses, despite trying to do all the right things, Twilight comes up lacking in both energy and plot, two areas that no noir, geezer or otherwise, can afford to be caught short in. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The movie's story is too obvious in its message, and too absurd in its plotting. Full Review

Joe Baltake
January 1, 2000
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

Too much of it feels like a movie made by geezers, with geezers and for geezers. Full Review

Jeff Millar
January 1, 2000
Jeff Millar, Houston Chronicle

Whenever Newman, Sarandon and Hackman are in the same scene, there's something like 107 years of film-acting is up there on the screen, and it shows.

Charles Taylor
January 1, 2000
Charles Taylor, Salon.com

Though the mystery doesn't need nearly that long to unravel, from moment to moment, the performances are all so good that it's easy to overlook the plot's flimsiness. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

This is a B-movie screenplay with an A-level cast and crew. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
January 1, 2000
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Writer-director Robert Benton obviously intended to paint this neo-noir in somber tones, but he's succeeded beyond what's good for his movie. Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
January 1, 2000
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

Part of Twilight's charm is the way it reconfigures Rio Bravo, El Dorado, and Rio Lobo in the process of making its own discoveries, not so much imitating or appropriating the earlier films as applyin... Full Review

Susan Stark
January 1, 2000
Susan Stark, Detroit News

A fascinating, elegantly plotted yarn that offers a haunting perspective on who we seem to be, who we are and what really counts. Full Review

Janet Maslin
January 1, 2000
Janet Maslin, New York Times

The film makes it a pleasure to watch the main characters -- played by Newman, Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman and James Garner -- sparring in style. Full Review

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