Popularity: 3 (history)
Director: | Robert Benton |
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Writer: | Robert Benton, Richard Russo |
Staring: |
A retired detective accepts a simple task, unaware that it will tear open old, forgotten, but deadly wounds. | |
Release Date: | Mar 06, 1998 |
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Director: | Robert Benton |
Writer: | Robert Benton, Richard Russo |
Genres: | Crime, Thriller |
Keywords | ex-cop, retired |
Production Companies | Paramount Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions, Cinehaus |
Box Office |
Revenue: $15,055,091
Budget: $37,000,000 |
Updates |
Updated: Aug 10, 2025 Entered: Apr 13, 2024 |
Name | Character |
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Paul Newman | Harry Ross |
Susan Sarandon | Catherine Ames |
Gene Hackman | Jack Ames |
Reese Witherspoon | Mel Ames |
Stockard Channing | Lt. Verna Hollander |
James Garner | Raymond Hope |
Giancarlo Esposito | Reuben Escobar |
Liev Schreiber | Jeff Willis |
Margo Martindale | Gloria Lamar |
John Spencer | Capt. Phil Egan |
M. Emmet Walsh | Lester Ivar |
Peter Gregory | Verna's Partner |
Rene Mujica | Mexican Bartender |
Patrick Malone | Younger Cop |
Lewis Arquette | Water Pistol Man |
Michael Brockman | Garvey's Bartender |
April Grace | Police Stenographer |
Clint Howard | EMS Worker |
John Cappon | Paramedic |
Neil Mather | Young Cop #2 |
Ron Sanchez | Crime Scene Detective |
Jack Wallace | Interrogation Officer |
Jeff Joy | Carl |
Jonathan Scarfe | Cop |
Stephanie Beaton | Beth Koski (uncredited) |
Jason Clarke | Young cop #1 |
Name | Job |
---|---|
Robert Benton | Director, Writer |
Piotr Sobociński | Director of Photography |
Joseph G. Aulisi | Costume Design |
David J. Bomba | Art Direction |
David Gropman | Production Design |
Richard Russo | Writer |
Elmer Bernstein | Original Music Composer |
Ilene Starger | Casting |
Beth A. Rubino | Set Decoration |
Nancy Thurston | Stunts |
Tabby Hanson | Stunts |
Carol Littleton | Editor |
Candace Neal | Hair Supervisor |
Name | Title |
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Arlene Donovan | Producer |
David McGiffert | Associate Producer |
Michael Hausman | Executive Producer |
Scott Rudin | Producer |
Scott Ferguson | Associate Producer |
Organization | Category | Person |
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Popularity History
Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | 4 | 18 | 36 | 11 |
2024 | 5 | 20 | 36 | 12 |
2024 | 6 | 14 | 25 | 10 |
2024 | 7 | 15 | 23 | 9 |
2024 | 8 | 16 | 39 | 8 |
2024 | 9 | 11 | 17 | 8 |
2024 | 10 | 13 | 25 | 8 |
2024 | 11 | 11 | 21 | 7 |
2024 | 12 | 10 | 17 | 6 |
2025 | 1 | 14 | 29 | 8 |
2025 | 2 | 9 | 12 | 3 |
2025 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 1 |
2025 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
2025 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
2025 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
2025 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
2025 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
2025 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
2025 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Trending Position
Year | Month | High | Avg |
---|---|---|---|
2025 | 7 | 692 | 836 |
Whilst this boasts a really strong cast, it isn't really anything much to write home about as thriller. Retired cop "Ross" (Paul Newman) lives with the wealthy, but terminally ill, actor "Ames" (Gene Hackman) and his wife "Catherine" (Susan Sarandon). When a young girl is kidnapped, he is asked to d ... eliver the ransom money - but as ever, no good deed goes unpunished, and soon he is embroiled in a twenty year old cold case involving her former husband that becomes distinctly perilous! James Garner appears and somehow that just put me in mind of one of the episodes from the "Rockford Files" upon which this could easily have been based. The cast are on screen, but they - especially Hackman - don't really seem to care. Their efforts are flat - not helped by an unremarkable screenplay and a plot that offers us nothing at all new. Indeed, one has to wonder what Paul Newman saw in it when he accepted the part. It's fairly clear to the audience who is pulling the strings and thereafter it's all just a procedural effort made watchable only by the charisma that is on the screen in spades. It is aptly named for the two leading gents; I doubt this is a film they would have touched in their prime.
Great cast in a so-so neo-noir thriller. Paul Newman, Gene Hackman and Susan Sarandon were great and Newman's scenes with Hackman was some of the highlights. Also get to see Reese Witherspoon (and all her glory) and Liev Schreiber in supporting roles, along with James Garner who was always great eve ... n in a smaller role here. But the script and noir never quite clicked for me and the ending was a bit predictable, however at the very least this never dragged. **3.0/5**