17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not an easy film to make....., October 29, 2002
"Moonlight Mile" is a bummer. The death of a child, just as they've entered the adult world, is a sensitive and difficult topic to break through on the screen. That it was just done, and done beautifully, with "In the Bedroom" (a film that many thought dragged....) made the making of "Moonlight Mile" so much more difficult.
In Mile, daughter Diana Floss has been an innocent victim, killed in a domestic dispute between two other people, in the small town in which she was raised. Her death occurs just prior to what was to have been her wedding to Joe (Jake Gyllenhaal); and Joe and Diana's parents, Ben and JoJo (Dustin Hoffman and Susan Sarandon) play through all of the emotions that surround such a family tragedy. They are alternately perfunctory and sarcastic, needy and emotional, stricken and determined to downplay the loss they feel.
Joe is lying about his intentions; he and Diana had broken up, but Ben is so determined to keep him a part of the family, and JoJo can play him off so well against the well-meaning Ben, that he feels compelled to stay, and continue to act out the American Tragedy, even going through the motions of going into business with Ben.
I give the film 4 stars because Brad Silberling, the director, is so dead on in terms of the artificiality of the mourning process, the manner in which we subject the family of someone taken from us to meaningless expressions of grief and concern, and the building of a mutual bond of sacrifice and strength that grows between the remaining family members. Silberling makes only two mistakes with his film:first, he fails to anchor the timing (the early 70's) in the minds of the viewer. It's difficult to understand the simplistic way in which things occur until you realize, halfway through, that this film happened 30 years ago. Second, he does not allow the viewer to know Diana. There are some visual sequences and some focus on photos that make the attempt, but too little of what she was gets through to the viewers, and, without more, we cannot sense the depth of loss the family feels.
The second compelling reason for a high rating is the performance of Susan Sarandon. Hoffman and young Gyllenhaal are both excellent in their roles, although Gyllenhaal never, not once, shows us the spark that would have attracted Diana, just the quiet, undemonstrative side of his character. Here, I think Silberling played too much into the type of person he is (he went through a similar tragedy with his fiancée), instead of what Joe could have been.
Sarandon is, in a word, superb. Blithe, brittle, outspoken and vibrant, she's a writer and a life force to be reckoned with. The scene in which she explains the relationship survival (between her and the completely opposite Ben)is a revelation. It's her hints and sidebars that make us realize truly, how little communication Ben and Diana had shared. She takes Joe to task when she realizes he has a new love (Ellen Pompeo: bewitching as Bertie), and, as much as she needs him, she conveys with her whole being how much she knows he has to leave. The conflict between Ben and JoJo is tragic in terms of how they feel about the murder trial for Diana's killer - in this, you know why JoJo feels as she does, although you can never really understand the way that Ben reacts. Lastly, she might have one of the best satirical lines ever on film when she acknowledges Joe's testimony as a "truth enema for all of us"...not too many actresses could carry that off! Sarandon, praised in many of my former reviews, is simply the best actress in America today.
I believe that most viewers will be bored by Moonlight Mile, but if you approach it for what it is, you'll find it a fine film that moves a little too slowly, and a hint of what is to come from Silberling.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A realistic look at grief, April 21, 2006
In 1971 'The Rolling Stones' recorded a beautiful track entitled 'Moonlight Mile' which is about being away from the ones you love. In the song he sings the words "I am just living to be lying by your side" and in those words we get it...we understand, and that is why this song, this title is so appropriate for a film of this grander. Susan Surandon and Dustin Hoffman star in this beautiful and touching film about losing the most important thing in your life, your child. Diana is engaged to Joe (Gyllenhaal in a powerful, pre-Brokeback, performance) when her life is taken by a madman. She is shot to death while being served in a diner. The movie opens with Joe, Ben (Hoffman) and Jojo (Surandon) getting ready to attend their daughters funeral. The next few seens really set the tone of the film and establish the roles your charactors will play. Within the first five minutes we see that Joe is uncomfortable, almost in his own skin, shy and reclusive and afraid of his suroundings. THis is not his town, these are not his friends, this is not his family and still he stays. Jojo appears strong, stronger than those around her but that's only because she doesn't know how to feel. It's only been three days. How does a mother feel THREE DAYS after her only child is murdered. SO to compensate Jojo finds humor in her situation and in those who share it with her. Ben feels a sense of responcibility. He's the sensible one, conciderate and understanding and appreciative of everyones good intentions regardless of how much he resents them for it. He may not want to see anyone right now, but he puts on a smile and says "thank you very much" because he knows you care. Those are your charactors, and that's your tone, uncomfortable, humorus and understanding. This film takes a VERY realistic approach to grief. Your uncomfortable, especially if you've never faced anything like this before. Your so uncomfortable that you tend to try anything to make yourself comfortable again, even if that means making jokes to place a smile on your otherwise blank face. And this film, is above all things, understanding for it really shows the stages one takes to overcome something like this. Jake Gyllenhaal says it best when he's invited to dinner at a colleges house. It's just not something you 'get over'. The story follows Joe as he lives with Jojo and Ben, mostly out of obligation but you come to realize that he may need them as much as they need him. When Joe meets Birdie (Ellen Pompeo in a superb performance), a local girl working at the post office they both start to form a bond, partly out of pure infactuation. When they dance to 'Moonlight Mile' it will all make sense, for it was that part of the film that did it for me. You spend all your time thinking over and over in your mind that things could have or should have been different, you spend so much time thinking about what could have been that you forget to think about what is GOING to happen next. As I said in the beginning, the song says "I am just living to be lying by your side"...but what if it's not refering to your love lost but to your love now, right in front of your eyes..and at that moment, while they danced in the bar, I got it, and I think they did too. A beautiful, touching and emotional story that reaches in and tugs at the heartstrings of any living breathing human being. I'm shocked this movie was ignored at the oscars, but it's not ignored here.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Phenomenal soundtrack enhances the mood, October 16, 2004
I was so intrigued by the 70's era music in this movie, that I searched for the soundtrack on the internet. Van Morrison's music adds such an effervescense to movie scenes that it just stops you in your tracks to place you in the movie's moment with the characters. Moonlight Mile is no exception. I also loved Jefferson Airplane's "Coming Back to Me" featured on this soundtrack. It helped me remember why I loved music in the 70's. I could actually envision being back there during the hippie days, wearing a long peasant dress and a peace-sign necklace, and being in love with the world...envisioning my young deceased husband silhouetted, stepping out of the shadows with backlighting, returning to me, as the song says. But then, the reviews say that Moonlight Mile will hit home with anyone who has lost a loved one. This movie is richly acted and incredibly put together.
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