Moonlight Mile
by Brad Silberling
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alexia Landeau, Dustin Hoffman, Ellen Pompeo, Jake Gyllenhaal, Susan SarandonDirector: Brad Silberling
Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
Producer: Brad Silberling
Writer: Brad Silberling
Producer: Ashok Amritraj
Producer: Brian W. Cook
Producer: David Hoberman
Producer: Mark Johnson
Producer: Patricia Whitcher
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 117 minutes
Published: 2003-03-01
DVD Release Date: 2003-03-11
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Product features:
- Oscar? winners Dustin Hoffman (Best Actor, 1980, Kramer vs. Kramer), Susan Sarandon (Best Actress, 1996, Dead Man Walking), and Holly Hunter (Best Actress, 1994, The Piano) star with Jake Gyllenhaal (The Good Girl) in Moonlight Mile -- an uplifting story of endearing honesty and humor. When Joe Nast (Gyllenhaal) experiences an unexpected loss, he wants to be the man he believes everyone wants
Movie Reviews of Moonlight Mile
Movie Review: You have to find your home
Summary: 5 Stars
MOONLIGHT MILE boasts one of the finest scripts written for a film. Written and directed by Brad Silberling ('10 Items or Less') this little film is so genuine and beautifully crafted and acted that it seems odd that it has not become a cult classic in the art film houses. The story melds tragedy with comic relief in such a successful way that it is truly a slice of life we all have or will encounter. And offering a tough situation as played out by four characters in the end gives us all a sense of balance: bad things happen and pass and what is important is that we each 'find our home', our stable survival place.
The film opens in a small town somewhere in the early part of the 1970s, the Vietnam war still a cloud that casts shadows on everyone. Jojo and Ben Floss (Susan Sarandon and Dustin Hoffman) are preparing to wade through the uncomfortable aspects of their daughter Diana's funeral: Diana was accidentally killed in a cafe when an unknown man attempted to murder his wife over a family dispute. Diana was to be married to Joe Nast (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Joe is in town for the wedding preparations and to reluctantly begin as Ben's partner in selling commercial real estate. In what could be a morbid atmosphere Jojo vents her just under the surface aggressions about how two-faced people are about mourning and funerals and burials. Somehow Jojo, Ben and Joe survive the day and Joe seems to be providing the stabilizing force by standing by his would-have-been parents-in-law. The three of them meet with lawyer Mona (Holly Hunter) to prepare for the trial of the murderer, facing the fact that if convicted the murderer could face the death penalty and the judge would be asking the family for their input on that decision.
Joe seeks distance from the situation, meets a pretty postal clerk Bertie (Ellen Pompeo) while attempting to prevent the wedding invitations to go out in the email: later Joe discovers the Bertie waits tables at Cal's Bar and Grill at night, a gesture of devotion to the owner/boyfriend Cal who has been missing for three years in Vietnam. The song 'Moonlight mile' connects the two needy people and they head toward a lighthearted but anxious mutual feeling of companionship.
Meanwhile, Jojo has been unable to continue as a writer since Diana's death, Ben buries his emotions about losing his only child by concentrating on the new 'Floss & Son' realty company, and the couple argues about life in general and all but adopts Joe as their only compensation for the loss of their daughter. Joe holds a secret: he broke off his engagement with Diana before the wedding - a fact that has many permutations to the actual incident in the cafe and the manner in which he feels Ben and Jojo will react to him. How this revelation comes to light in the courtroom makes a unique impact on all concerned and Joe's steadfast truthfulness actually mends the lives of the Floss family and his own perception of his future.
Silberling's script tackles many issues and does so with genuine pathos and compassion, creating wholly believable characters that are gratefully fleshed out by this extraordinary cast. Susan Sarandon once again proves why she is one of our finest actresses on the screen today, while Gyllenhaal and Hoffman and Pompeo and Hunter match her every move. The power of this film comes in the quiet moments, moments when we are reminded what makes relationships work, how we all need to find that special harbor we call home. An amazingly fine film! Grady Harp, July 10
Summary of Moonlight Mile
Oscar® winners Dustin Hoffman (Best Actor, 1980, Kramer vs. Kramer), Susan Sarandon (Best Actress, 1996, Dead Man Walking), and Holly Hunter (Best Actress, 1994, The Piano) star with Jake Gyllenhaal (The Good Girl) in Moonlight Mile -- an uplifting story of endearing honesty and humor. When Joe Nast (Gyllenhaal) experiences an unexpected loss, he wants to be the man he believes everyone wants him to be -- the dutifully bereaved husband-to-be and the perfect would-be son-in-law to Ben (Hoffman) and Jojo (Sarandon). But then another woman unexpectedly enters his life, and he's torn between fulfilling his new roles and following his heart.For anyone who has lost a loved one, Moonlight Mile will ring true with heartfelt emotion. Like the characters in this well-acted film, writer-director Brad Silberling confronted death when his girlfriend, actress Rebecca Schaeffer, was murdered in 1989. That tragedy gives Moonlight Mile its mournful authenticity, beginning in 1973 after the killing of a young woman whose fiancé, Joe (Jake Gyllenhaal), is living with her grieving parents (Dustin Hoffman, Susan Sarandon) while contemplating his uncertain future. The film is occasionally sidetracked by Hollywood slickness, but Silberling (who scored box-office hits with Casper and City of Angels) gets the emotional details exactly right, and a potentially formulaic romance between Joe and a local girl (superbly played by newcomer Ellen Pompeo) feels like a natural step toward recovery. Holly Hunter plays a small but pivotal role, and while Moonlight Mile lacks the gravity of the dramatically similar In the Bedroom, it springs from the same source of compassionate understanding. --Jeff Shannon
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