Customer Reviews

A Walk on the Moon

5 star:		(85)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is one movie that is misnamed. Ask anybody if they've seen it and they always say, Oh yeah, you mean the one with The Blouse Man. I learned from a friend of the woman who wrote the original that THAT was the original name. They should have kept it. But otherwise, I can't think of a negative thing to say about this movie. It's a coming-of-age (the daughter, played by Anna Paquin) story; it's a tale of a marriage turning boring and of temptation knocking at the door (The Blouse Man himself, SO well played by Viggo Mortensen; it's the exploration of the responsibilities that vie with the passions of the mom who sacrificed her youth and dreams to unplanned pregnancy and early marriage (so perfectly played by the lovely Diane Lane); the rage of the mostly clueless but loving and dutiful husband (Liev Schreiber), and the incomparable Tovah Feldshuh as the wise and sassy mother-in-law who literally and figuratively smacks sense into everyone's heads. The whole drama plays out during the summer of 1969 at a Jewish `camp' in the Catskills. Woodstock's `happening' occurs, and then Neil Armstrong walks on the moon.
Plus, omigod, such a great soundtrack, all the terrific music from that unbelievable and surreal era. This is one of those videos you just might want to purchase.

My husband and I own this movie and think it's fabulous on every level. We've watched it many times since it was first released. Diane Lane and Liev Schrieber are both marvelous actors and are able to convey so much about their emotions with small moments. Tovah Feldshuh, as the wise mother-in-law, is perfect. The changing times are believably portrayed in this story about a couple who married young in a different time and now find their world changing. (I was 18 at the time of the moon landing and Woodstock so witnessed the era firsthand.) One of the things that is so good about this movie is that all the characters are good, well-intentioned people - there is no "bad" guy here, even the gorgeous "blouse man," played by Viggo Mortensen, is a decent guy. I love it that both Pearl and Marty, after they realize some new things about each other, are willing to try and find their way back to each other in this new world. The final scene of them dancing on the porch couldn't be better.
Despite the fact that three years after this movie, Diane Lane was in "Unfaithful," they are very different movies and "A Walk on the Moon" is superior because it has so much heart. I can very strongly recommend this movie.

Such high-quality movies like A Walk On The Moon rarely get released . It's a film about the stormy turns a family's daily life takes when wife Pearl ( Lane ) meets a charming blouse man ( Mortensen ) . Although it's clear that she does love her husband ( Schreiber ) , she fails to remain faithfull to him . At the same time her daughter ( Anna Paquin ) is slowly becoming a woman . Her first flirt with a boy takes place and the girl , full of doubts and questions tries to come in terms with her puberty . The film's biggest strength is it's cast . Lane gives a quiet , carefull perfomance as the young wife while Mortensen displays once more his poisonous charms . The heart of the film though is Liev Schreiber who gives to his character the human sensitivity he needs to seem believable . He's one of these gifted , underrated actors ( see also Don Cheadle , Ben Chaplin ) who we would never like to see leading an expensive , supernatural blockbuster movie . What makes A Walk On The Moon so special is that it talks about things and situations which could easily be true . Frightengly naturall are also the supporting actors who have been casted perfectly as everyday-people of that time . The family's unity is in danger and the viewer almost feels Pearl's frustration and agony about the future . Will her acts torn her home apart ? Director Goldwyn dezerves congratulations for risk losing the teenage audience by making a film about family values . If you ask me though , when a movie is as well written and well acted as this one , age is not a factor . As for the ending is one of the smartest , most impulsive and touching ones you'll ever get the chance to see .

This is among the most underrated films I have ever seen. The characters, the casting, the subplots, Tony Goldwyn's superb directing, I simply cannot say enough about this film. Diane Lane was superb as a young wife and mother whose youth came to a halt when she becomes pregnant at 17 and she later has another child after her daughter. Lane's character Pearl is an adventurer and a free spirit who is married to a good man who is, alas, unbelievably conventional, uptight, boring, and so unromantic I found myself wincing several times throughout the movie. The scene where he confronts Pearl about the Blouse Man is so lackluster I was thinking, "Yeah this guy seems REALLY upset".

And speaking of the Blouse Man.....As far as I am concerned Viggo Mortensen is the most devine man who ever graced this planet. He is already overwhelming as an artist and an activist, but when one adds his superb acting abilities to the list he is almost unbearable. Mortensen's role of Jerome Walker is among his best performances and by far his most sensual. The moment Pearl meets Walker the attraction is tangible as she looks at him and sees everything she wants and everything she wanted to be. Her affair with Walker gives her back the things that were taken away from her when she became a wife and mother.

Mortensen is beyond temptation knocking on Pearl's door. The way he moves, holds himself, and looks at every woman who comes into his bus is seduction itself. He takes one look at Pearl and knows what this woman has lost and what she needs to regain the part of herself she has sacrificed. From the moment he bites the tag off the tie-dye shirt he gives to her (one of the sexiest moves you have ever seen) you cheer for this gorgeous couple and wish that Pearl was free in order to live her dreams with this sublime man. The love scenes in this film are beautifully done and practically set the screen on fire as Pearl abandons her barely-there inhibitions with a very obliging Walker.

Perhaps the most intense scene in the movie is when Pearl's son is injured while Pearl is with Walker. As they are pulling back up to the summer commune Pearl is accosted by her fellow housewives to tend to her her injured child. As she and Walker rush to the boy's side, it is Walker (much to the dismay of Pearl's mother-in-law) who knows how to tend to the wounds and comfort the boy. After her son is treated Pearl's husband rushes into the house and the three parties of the love triangle are in the same room. Your heart breaks for Pearl as her anguish is written all over her face and when her husband turns to Walker and thanks him for assisting their son, you don't hurt for her you hurt with her. It is a gut-wrenching scene that is so visual it is almost more stirring when you mute the audio. The runner-up as the most poignant moment in this film is when Pearl's daughter watches her through a pair of binoculars at Woodstock. Busted is the understatement of the millennium for that discovery. Even so, Pearl looks absolutely beautiful in her joy and freedom as Walker swings her around in his arms. Once more, Viggo Mortensen, in a low-slung pair of tight pants, no shirt, and artfully painted as he lowers Diane down and slinkily crawls on top of her.....On a lighter note, I would be thinking "Good job Mom!"


The ending is happy and a bummer at the same time. I'm not going to give it away but I thought Pearl would make a different choice than what she did. When you watch the scene with Pearl and Walker in his room you will understand what I mean. It is in that moment Viggo Mortensen shows us what a truly superb actor he is with naked emotion in his face, voice, and eyes. If you loved The Bridges of Madison County, you will love a Walk on the Moon. If you are a fan of any of the actors in this film you will love it. If you are a Viggo fan you will need something cold to drink and if you just want to see a great movie this will certainly leave you satisfied. And above all else, this is a terrific selection to watch with someone you love.

Simply the best. Only problem is the title: everyone I know refers to it when questioned with, "You know, the one with The Blouse Man." Turns out that was the original title, and then Hollywood got hold of it and turned it into this forgettable zippo thingie.
Anyway, it's terrific, no matter what you call it. Sexual awakening of an adolescent girl at the same time her mother is striving to recreate the adolescence she never had (due to an unexpected pregnancy with that very adolescent girl who is now her daughter). It's the summer of Woodstock, and the time of Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon - hence the title - but it's still The Blouse Man. If you want to see a HOT sex scene, see this movie! But that's far from the only reason. A Walk on the Moon is about family, temptation, youth, responsibility, fidelity, love, duty, staying-power, devotion, mother-daughter issues... It's about Life.
And buy the sound track, too; all the goodies from those hazy, marijuana-fogged days and nights come alive again.

How refreshing to see a film that is not filled with stereotypes and cliches. There were many moments in the film when I was pleasantly surprised by the actions of the characters. One is when the mother-in-law, in a conversation with her daughter-in-law (Lane), reveals that she knows what Pearl has been up to. She treats Pearl with much understanding rather than attacking her (which is what one might expect). Another such moment is when Pearl's husband comes face to face with her lover during a family crisis. I was waiting for a fight and it (thankfully) didn't happen. I really love movies that surprise me by unexpected actions, that are completely plausable. This is a very rich story, with interesting, sympathetic characters.

If you grew up in the 1950's and 1960's you will probably enjoy this film which evokes nostalgia for the simpler times (pre-electronic age). Such a scenario as evidenced by the movie plot has been played out by many people. Anyone who did not follow his dreams can identify with something in this film. I have to agree with at least one reviewer that this is a highly UNDERRATED film! I thought the acting was superb on the part of everyone. Diane Lane is a talented beauty. You can really feel her pain if you are not already jaded! This movie makes me yearn for the friendlier times when people knew their neighbors, felt much safer and when life seemed less complicated. If you're a romantic you will probably enjoy this film. If you didn't grow up during the two decades I cited above, you may be incapable of appreciating the nuances of this film. The simplicity of the story line with few, if any, special effects results in a very good movie!

Excellent! This is a movie you can watch mulitple times. The essence of it will remain with you after you turn it off.

As one who lived as a young adult in 1969, I could see through the eyes of each character. Excellent acting and storyline. Kudos to the writer and director.

The movie made me mad, sad, and glad, bringing out all three different emotions. At times in our lives, we all are tempted to be someone we're not; and to do things we would not when our emotions get in the way. If we're mad we do one thing; if we're disappointed with life, we may take a selfish turn and do something ordinarily unthinkable, which is what happened with the character Pearl.

This movie portrays very well the emotions of daughter against mother, the emotions of this young teen experiencing the entry into womanhood, the emotions of a father and husband toward his family and his sacrifices for such. The emotions of a family unit seen in 1969 is no different than any family today.

I loved the movie. I would definately have it in my movie library. I give it two thumbs up! (By the way, the 'F' word was not used in 1969, as this movie indicates. This word is put into movies by the generation who DOES use it, thinking it has always been accepted - NOT.)

Gail Gupton, author
The 31-Day Diet of Spiritual Enlightenment and Seekers of Truth

I never heard of this film until a friend suggested we watch it. I was blown away by the acting but even more blown away by the romantic scene between Pearl and The 'blouse man'. I think the director and actors captured what many women would love to experience for themselves. Simply beautiful and erotic without any sleeze or silliness.

Goldwyn, with platinum Hollywood credentials courtesy of being the grandson of Samuel Goldwyn (as in Metro-*Goldwyn*-Mayer), is relatively new to the directing business - this is his debut, and he's directed two others since. He is better known as an actor for his roles in *Ghost*, *The Pelican Brief* and *Nixon." In the HBO miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon, " Goldwyn played astronaut Neil Armstrong, first man to walk on the moon, and perhaps was inspired to base this film, called *A Walk on the Moon*, on unrelated events that occur on that famous night. Goldwyn also seemed to take a good long look at *Dirty Dancing* before he made this film - unarguably a dangerous proposition - but he seemed to be able to determine what parts of it were charming and which parts were schlock. He, thankfully, left most of the schlock on the cutting room floor. Like *Dirty Dancing*, it is the story of a Jewish family spending the summer at a resort in upstate New York. Where *Dirty Dancing* took place in 1963 as the world was just beginning to notice the changes, *Moon* is set in the summer of 1969 and the world's already on fire, but these people don't know it. Diane Lane and Liev Schreiber play Pearl and Marty Kantrowitz, a young blue-collar couple who began having children at a very young age, missing out on their own youth. As their daughter, Alison (Paquin), comes of age, she faces the inevitable gulf that separates her from her parents - it was a requirement that children felt estranged from their parents in 1969 - but her parents simply aren't that much older than she is. Life is pretty dull at the resort, with the highlights being visits from the "Knish Man," the "Ice Cream Man" and the "Blouse Man." Pearl, who finds herself alone during the week while Marty goes back into the city to work, falls hard for the "Blouse Man," a hippie who lives life on his own terms (the movie had the regrettable working title of *Blouse Man*). The entire resort is excited about the impending moonwalk, but Marty won't be able to make it back in time to see it with Pearl. Pearl spends the night in her own world of celestial bodies and shooting stars as she gives herself to the hippie blouse man. Meanwhile, not far away, is this event happening - no one really knows what it's about - it's called "Woodstock." Daughter Alison wants to go, but is forbidden to. She runs away and goes anyway, running into - who else? - her mother who has been taken there by the Blouse Man. Mom inadvertently gets dosed with acid and trips out, and daughter comes unglued over it, screaming, "I'm the teenager! Not you! You're my mom!" The story gets a little messy here and there, as daughter comes to terms with the fact that she may not be quite so different from her parents, and the parents come to terms with the fact that modern life has just about left them in the dust. It is a touching ending as the parents are trying to work it out between them, which seemed somehow unusual - it the Sixties most parents would have split up to "find themselves." It is a refreshing film, nonetheless, with a very good performance from Lane and a number a good performances from lesser-known cast members.