The Twilight of the Golds

Director: Ross Marks
Screenwriters: Seth Bass, Jonathan Tolins

Institute History

  • 1997 Sundance Film Festival

Description

Director Ross Marks returns to Sundance (his film Homage was in the 1995 competition) with a remarkable film adaptation of the controversial Broadway play. The film spotlights the complexities related to genetic testing. Powerfully dramatic with plenty of humor and warmth, The Twilight of the Golds addresses a highly charged subject capable of dividing a family.

Suzanne (Jennifer Beals) and her husband Rob have just discovered she’s pregnant. Rob is a doctor specializing in genetic research, so they run full tests on the fetus. When the results come in, their lives are sent into a tailspin. Suzanne’s conservative parents, brilliantly played by Faye Dunaway and Garry Marshall, realize, after they hear the news, that they must face their insecurities and prejudices. Arguments and fights ensue. With the latest breakthroughs in genetic testing, the potential for this type of scenario is not far-fetched. With honesty and sensitivity, The Twilight of the Golds reveals that with the advent of new technologies come problems that result from knowing more than you perhaps want to.

— Lisa Viola

Screening Details

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