Dir. Brad Silberling, US, 2002, 117 mins
Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Susan Sarandon, Jake Gyllenhaal
How should you react if somebody close to you dies? The answer, according to this new film from Brad Silberling, is to do whatever comes naturally, even if that means falling in love with someone else.
Moonlight Mile is set in a small American town in the 1970s. The key event in the film is the murder of a young woman in the local diner, but we never see the tragedy nor do we ever meet the victim. Instead, the story begins on the morning of the funeral with her fiancée, Joe Nast (Jake Gyllenhaal), being woken from a nightmare by a ringing telephone. We assume that the telephone (which Silberling uses as a recurring theme throughout the film) is to be associated with reality. However, we soon find out that reality is a confused and confusing concept for Joe and the deceased's parents, Ben and JoJo Floss (Dustin Hoffman and Susan Sarandon). All three of them resent the affected sympathy of their friends and acquaintances, but none of them knows how to deal with their unexpected loss.
While Ben and JoJo try to find a way to return to a normal existence outside of their daughter's memory, a chance encounter at the local post office between Joe and Bertie (Ellen Pompeo), the attractive girl who works there, provides the impetus for Joe (and, ultimately, Ben and JoJo as well) to emerge from his emotional hibernation. It's their relationship that gives the film its heart. As it grows, we gradually learn more and more not just about them, but about Ben and JoJo (an argumentative but loving couple), the details surrounding their daughter's death, and the entire social fabric of which they are all a part.
Silberling's original screenplay is largely based on his own personal tragedy: his actress-girlfriend was murdered by a fan in 1989. It's a wonderfully observed, intelligent piece of writing that deals with potentially maudlin topics sensitively and offers genuine characterisations rather than easy stereotypes. His direction is assured, as one would expect from a veteran of acclaimed TV series such as Civil Wars and NYPD Blue. Only in a handful of scenes do we realise that we are watching a piece of fiction. These scenes tend to be the film's most emotional moments (notably Joe's testimony at the trial of the murderer). However, Silberling directs these scenes so smoothly that their slight staginess is easily overlooked.
Silberling has elicited some terrific performances from his eclectic mix of established veterans and talented newcomers. Sarandon is on top form, conveying JoJo's strengths and weaknesses while resisting the temptation to make her character too quirky and thereby unbalance the film. Gyllenhaal is utterly convincing as a young man scared to share the guilt he feels towards his fiancee's death, yet desperate to confide in someone that he loves.
But the most moving performance is Pompeo's. Her sweet charm recalls Renee Zellwegger, but she also reveals a toughness that marks her out as an actress of substance. Here, surely, is a star in the making.
Moonlight Mile is one of those rare films that draws you so far into the lives of its main characters that the two hours in the cinema feel more like a get together with old friends. This is a great tribute to the writing and acting, in particular, that make this an engrossing and delightful experience.
Justin Whitton
Available as part of the Jake Gyllenhaal Collection, released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2nd october 2006.
EXTRA FEATURES
• Moonlight Mile: A Journey to Screen
• Audio Commentary - With Director - With Director and Cast
• Deleted Scenes
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