Moonlight Mile Movie Review:


Often it seems easy to tell everything about a film by it's trailer. We know what kind of feelings we will have watching it and for the most part we know what will happen. This can partially be due to the fact that often the trailers give away much more than is necissary, but even more sad, it is due to the fact that there is often very few original films coming out of Hollywood.

Perhaps this is why the star of Moonlight Mile, Jake Gyllenhaal, left the Hollywood system after some success in it, in order to make independant films. Whatever the reason Gyllenhaal returns to the system to make Moonlight Mile. Interesting enough Gyllenaal's character, Joe, is never seen speaking in any of the trailers released, despite the fact that he is the one who carries this film. Hollywood might just have a few tricks up it's sleeve yet.

Moonlight Mile starts it's story the day of a funeral. Ben and JoJo Floss, played by Dustin Hoffman and Susan Sarandon, have just lost their daughter due to a shoot out at a local restaurant. A crazed husband came in to shoot his wife and took Diana Floss out with her. Moonlight Mile is not about Diana though. It is about the people who have been left behind to deal with her death. Mainly Joe, Gyllenhaal in possibly one of the best screen performances of the year. Joe Nast was staying with the Floss family in order to plan his and Diana's wedding. Now, after the funeral, Joe feels a certain obligation and remains with Ben and JoJo. Things get complicated when Ben decides to bring Joe into his business and at the same time he begins a relationship with another girl in town.
This may seem rather basic, but all of the details are what make this film so remarkable. It comes off very real which may have something to do with the fact that the writer, and director, lost a fiance in a similiar way. Brad Silberling (Casper, City of Angels) seems to have put a lot of heart into this script but it lacks the emotional manipulation of many other films in this category. Perhaps there is something to be said about a director who writes his own material.

Dustin Hoffman was one of the big names that will surely draw the crowds in, but this is not his film. Hoffman does have his moments in Moonlight Mile, but they never seem quite as amazing as some of his other roles. This isn't his worst performance, but it also is not one of his best. Susan Sarandon, often the sarcasm of the film, creates an incredible character. Whether you love her or you hate her, she is real, and honest. Boy, is she honest. The real star of this film though, is without a doubt Jake Gyllenhaal. Gyllenhaal plays the grief in such a subtle and yet powerful way that it will give you chills. The sadness and the anger never seem anything fake or cheesy. In fact, much of the film goes by where we only see a glimmer of sadness in his eyes. We are forced to wait and see his sadness until he finds someone he can let it out for. And the only scene where he gets angry is at a sort of business dinner blind date, and I'll just say that it is powerful and hilarious, probably one of my favorite scenes in any film this year.

Moonlight Mile has many great qualities to it. The art direction was fantastic, as was the cinematography, the performances were great, and the soundtrack was so incredible that you would think this was a Cameron Crowe film. Even with all of that though, Moonlight Mile would have been nothing without the heart behind it. Let's just hope that Brad Silberling writes a few more of his upcoming projects.

Ryan Izay

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