Twilight

Paul Newman is Harry Ross, a recovering alcoholic ex-cop who can't cut it on the streets any more. He still needs to eat, though, so has found himself a cushy number with old pal, movie star Jack Aimes (Gene Hackman) and his gorgeous starlet wife, Catherine (Susan Sarandon). Things seem to be fine, except for his burning crush on Catherine and the problems of keeping the Aimes's wild child daughter (Reese Witherspoon), at bay.

Fine, that is, until Jack, who is dying from cancer, makes something of a "last request" when he asks Harry to deliver an envelope - "no questions asked". Things are not as simple as they seem, however, and when the recipient of the envelope turns up dead, Harry becomes sucked into a murder mystery that has lain unsolved for years.

With such a competent cast, you can't help but expect more from this film, but while the acting is all right, the directing and scripting rarely stretches beyond the pedestrian. Everything appears to take place at a gentle saunter, making it feel like a made-for-TV whodunit for the over-fifties, almost as though Robert Benton, famous for the tear-jerking Kramer Vs Kramer, doesn't want us to get too excited, in case we are upset. There is plenty of characterisation here, but so many additional cast members dip in and out of the plot that it manages to be confusing as well as slow.

All the best lines go to Harry's friend, Raymond (James Garner), and the ever-watchable Stockard Channing, as his ex-partner. The other actors are by no means bad, but writer Matthew Warchus gives them little to work with. Sarandon, in particular, comes across as one-dimensional, with almost no room for development.

Even when the action kicks in, it appears curiously flat, lacking in sparkle, and the performers fail to convince. If this is the sort of thing Benton has planned for his own twilight years, perhaps he should consider retirement, because this Twilight may be full of stars, but their talent fails to shine through.