I think Robert Benton was born in the wrong era, he would've been a solid director back in the 40's and 50's, like in 'Still of the night', it's nicely shot, well cast and well acted but it remains somewhat hollow.
I think the cast pretty much elevates the material, it's standard noir, there's a gritty voiceover by Newman, a twisty, plot, betrayals and it all works thanks to the chemistry between Newman, Sarandon, Hackman and Garner. I appreciated the idea of a geriatric noir, Paul Newman and James Garner were suitably grizzled, Susan Sarandon looked absolutely luminous, Stockard Channing was stuck with an awful haircut but she was still solid and Gene Hackman acted mainly from a bed but he was still good.
It's a totally solid film, it doesn't do anything new with the genre but it's nice to sit back and watch these old pro's command the screen effortlessly.
I think the cast pretty much elevates the material, it's standard noir, there's a gritty voiceover by Newman, a twisty, plot, betrayals and it all works thanks to the chemistry between Newman, Sarandon, Hackman and Garner. I appreciated the idea of a geriatric noir, Paul Newman and James Garner were suitably grizzled, Susan Sarandon looked absolutely luminous, Stockard Channing was stuck with an awful haircut but she was still solid and Gene Hackman acted mainly from a bed but he was still good.
It's a totally solid film, it doesn't do anything new with the genre but it's nice to sit back and watch these old pro's command the screen effortlessly.
