Film Review: Moonlight Mile (2002)

There are films that are made for therapeutic purposes, mainly to provide some sort of emotional closure to their authors. While being more personal in nature can make such films stand out from the rest, such films often leave much to be desired in terms of entertainment for the audience. Moonlight Mile, 2002 drama written and directed by Brad Silbering.

The plot is set in small (and fictional) Massachussets town of Cape Anne in 1972. Protagonist, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, is Joe Nast, young man whose life gets shattered following the murder of his fiancee Diana Floss (played by Careena Melia). He decides to move in home of her grief-stricken parents Ben (played by Dustin Hoffman) and Jojo (played by Susan Sarandon) and help them deal with the loss by disposing of her property, wedding invitations, and, later joining Ben’s real estate deal. Things get complicated when Joe begins falling in love with Diana’s friend Bertie Knox (played by Ellen Pompeo), a woman tending local bar whose owner is her boyfriend who went missing while fighting in Vietnam War.

Silbering found the inspiration for the script in personal tragedy. In 1989 his girlfriend, young actress Rebecca Shaeffer, was murdered by a deranged fan. Protagonist obviously serves as Silbering’s alter ego and the plot serves as an opportunity for the author to exercise his demons while exploring not only his, but other’s people ways to confront the unimaginable loss. The film is well-acted, which shouldn’t be surprising, since young Jake Gyllenhaal is joined by experienced and respected Oscar-winning cast that includes Dustin Hoffman, Susan Sarandon and Holly Hunter in the small role of prosecutor demanding that grieving family and fiance testify at murder trial. Unfortunately, skills of the cast aren’t matched by Silbering’s skills of directions. Tempo of Moonlight Mile is almost unbearably slow and it actually takes a lot of effort for viewers to realise that the plot is actually set in early 1970s. Music soundtrack is often annoying and the generally disappointing impression is completed with the predictably Hollywood-like ending.

RATING: 4/10 (+)

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