Moonlight Mile

One of the really bad films of the year. It would be tempting to blame it on writer/director Brad Silberling, but no one in this film acquits him or herself admirably. Susan Sarandon struggles to bring her usual fiery passion to a dully-written part, Dustin Hoffman looks great but is otherwise a bore, and Jake Gyllenhaal comes across as an annoying Tobey Maguire clone, but even more annoying than Tobey. The nadir? Possibly this line from Sarandon: "You've given us all a big truth enema." Yeah, there's eloquence for you! Gyllenhaal whines his way through an unbelievably bad courtroom scene that provokes a desire to smack him one, and Holly Hunter looks embarrassed as a district attorney. A low mark for all concerned.

This movie deals with three people dealing with the murder of a daughter.One of them was her fiancé.Moonlight Mile (2002) is directed by Brad Silberling.It's loosely based on Brad's own experiences.The cast does a great job.Dustin Hoffman is amazing.Today this great actor turns 75.Jake Gyllenhaal plays Joe Nast.Susan Sarandon is Jojo Floss.Ellen Pompeo portrays Bertie Knox.Holly Hunter plays Mona Camp.Dabney Coleman plays Mike Mulcahey.This is a film not to avoid.It's not a kind of film that makes you only cry and feel sad, it can also make you smile.The romance part is something I enjoyed.In the music department there is Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Jefferson Airplane and their guitarist Jorma Kaukonen, not to forget the Rolling Stones.The film's title comes from their song of the same name.

This movie was a surprise to me. Tuned it in on HBO and enjoyed the entire movie, laughing out loud at several surprise parts. The characters run the gamut of emotions, and those who did not enjoy this movie never took the time to gauge the feelings of the characters involved. Ellen Pompeo's character is fabulous, Dustin Hoffman's whole demeanor shows a father's grief, but in his own way. I highly recommend this movie to those who take a little time to read the characters, and who don't expect the director and writer to spell it all out for them. Enjoy!

Waitress Diana Floss was killed by a husband who came to the diner to kill his wife. Mona Camp (Holly Hunter) is the prosecutor. Diana's fiancé Joe Nast (Jake Gyllenhaal) is staying with her parents Ben (Dustin Hoffman) and Jojo (Susan Sarandon) who still treats him as their own son. He feels obligated to stay which includes going along with Ben's plan of him being in the family commercial realty business. He falls for Bertie Knox (Ellen Pompeo) but they both have secrets of their own. It's a movie about a lot of suffering but mostly done quietly. Everybody is getting crushed but nobody is particularly interested to admit it. It has the air of truth. However it isn't able to squeeze emotions out of the audience. We get to witness their suffering without really feeling it. Most of the performances are great. Gyllenhaal does a terrific job bringing life to the emotional dialog which could have gone another way.

When I first started watching this movie I was a bit confused. I had expected some drama and romance, but instead it looked like a comedy! But when I kept watching, I realised I was wrong, although I have to admit that the first half an hour is rather comedy than drama. Anyway, "Moonlight Mile" is highly enjoyable. What exactly makes this movie so great? It's the acting. The cast is outstanding. Susan Sarandon and Dustin Hoffman are truly amazing as always. Jake Gyllenhaal, who we know from "Donnie Darko", was excellent as well. But, like I already said, Hoffman and Sarandon are the true stars in this one. They were both so funny from time to time! "Moonlight Mile" is definitely worth watching! A true indie with great performances! 8/10