side with the Newlands, given their wealth and ability to provide Mathilda with advantages she never would have with Michael. Then the remains of Tanny Newland - surrounded by the gold coins he stole from Michael - are found at the bottom of the quarry his brother was draining to create a lake surrounded by real estate he planned to sell. Michael's sudden return to wealth - and the judge's realization that Tanny was most likely killed by his brother - convinces him that Mathilda should remain with Michael. The film ends with Michael taking Mathilda to visit her late mother's grave, in a remote potter's cemetery. Cast Steve Martin as Michael McCann Carolyn McCormick as Elaine McCann Alana Austin as Mathilda McCann (age 12) Gabriel Byrne as John Newland Laura Linney as Nancy Newland Catherine O'Hara as April Simon Stephen Baldwin as Tanny Newland Michael Des Barres as Bryce Release The film opened on 319 screens on Labor Day weekend and earned $1,404,904 over a four-day period, ranking #19 among all releases. It eventually grossed $3,430,583 at the domestic box office. Reception Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called the film: "...warm and funny... there is a lot to like about [it].... Try as I might, I just couldn't accept this Victorian story in modern dress. The motivations seemed wrong (would 20th century people behave this way?), the plotting seemed contrived (as indeed it was), and the plot's habit of springing big surprises on us was too manipulative. This is not at all a bad movie, mind you, but a good movie gone wrong, through a simple twist of miscalculation. Hal Hinson of The Washington Post wrote: "When clowns write sad stories for themselves, the results are almost always disastrous. For A Simple Twist of Fate, Steve Martin not only wrote the screenplay... but also executive-produced the project, creating for himself a character that is about as different from his typical roles as can be imagined. And if the exercise isn't precisely disastrous, it comes very close to it... Perhaps it's a stretch for a performer with such remarkable charisma to play someone who is without it ... Martin does a skillful job of nullifying himself, and he does present a side of himself that has been glimpsed only briefly. But what a joyless accomplishment it is. As a comic, Martin soars, but here he has clipped his own