Twilight (1998)
Twilight has a great cast: Paul Newman, Gene Hackman, Susan Sarandon, James Garner, Stockard Channing, Reese Witherspoon, Leiv Schreiber, Margo Martindale, Giancarlo Esposito, and M. Emmet Walsh. But the screenplay was so awful, the actors so lackluster, and the finished product so lukewarm, I couldn’t recommend it with a clear conscience. Paul seemed exhausted in every scene and determined not to put any actual acting into his performance. Susan tried way too hard to appear sexy, and none of her little gimmicks worked. If this were the first movie of hers I’d seen, I probably wouldn’t have wanted to watch another. Plus, her continual “light my cigarette” bit got old fast, as did her exaggerated inhales when it was painfully clear she wasn’t inhaling at all. If she really didn’t want to smoke, she should have been given oregano cigarettes, the script should have been altered, or she should have been replaced by an actress willing to inhale. Reese’s sole purpose in the film was to draw in the young audience – which was insulting. The other leads in the film were over fifty, so the only way to get the 20s crowd interested was for a twenty-two-year-old to take her clothes off. If the movie was that uninteresting, the screenplay should have been rewritten.
Speaking of the screenplay, there was no character development. Even if the actors wanted to sink their teeth into something, they would have had to create a backstory for themselves like in Acting 101; and chances are, the audience wouldn’t have picked up on their subtleties anyway. This pseudo-noir had some promise with a plot of double-crossing and secrets, but it was very disappointing.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to nudity and violence, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.
More James Garner movies here!
More Paul Newman movies here!
More Susan Sarandon movies here!
Speaking of the screenplay, there was no character development. Even if the actors wanted to sink their teeth into something, they would have had to create a backstory for themselves like in Acting 101; and chances are, the audience wouldn’t have picked up on their subtleties anyway. This pseudo-noir had some promise with a plot of double-crossing and secrets, but it was very disappointing.
Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to nudity and violence, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.
More James Garner movies here!
More Paul Newman movies here!
More Susan Sarandon movies here!