FFVP Review-A Walk on the Moon

A WALK ON THE MOON

"A Walk on the Moon" blew me away! It’s one of the best family dramas to appear on the big screen in ages. Packed with humor, insight, conflict, and irony, first time director, Tony Goldwyn, lets the actors leisurely breathe life into the inhabitants of a bungalow village in the Catskill Mountains in the eventful summer of 1969. It was a time of technological wonder with man making a giant leap for mankind on the moon, and an era of social revolution signified by the music festival at nearby Woodstock.

While the world watches the astronauts explore the surface of the moon on TV, the title, "A Walk on the Moon," also becomes a metaphor for navigating the uncharted emotional landscapes of the heart. Pamela Gray’s script peels away the layers of Pearl Kantrowitz’s

(Diane Lane) marriage to Marty(Liev Schreiber), a TV repairman, to reveal a relationship built on broken dreams, unspoken feelings, and unfulfilled lives.

Pearl feels trapped by her life. She drops hints to her husband, and talks about it with her friends. She is ready for change. She doesn’t know how it will come, or what form it will take, until an itinerant salesman known as the blouse man takes an interest in her.

Pearl impulsively enters into an affair that has the fevered pitch of an erotic dream. But this new sense of freedom, embodied by the feeling evoked by the Woodstock scenes, proves to be as elusive as her feelings for the blouse man. Pearl still loves her husband and the kids. Marty’s mother(Tovah Feldshuh) compounds Pearl’s guilt with a history lesson about the forces that continue to mold the character of her son. Marty will do anything to hold onto the one thing dearest to him - his family.

"A Walk on the Moon" is a complex picture that explores all the shadings of Pearl’s passion. It is sympathetic to her need for self discovery, yet never flinches when portraying the pain and guilt that results from her odyssey. Diane Lane is stunning. She never betrays Pearl’s working class leanings, yet imbues her with a sense of mystique and sensuality that is irresistible. Liev Schreiber, a veteran of the "Scream" movies, is perfect as the husband too busy putting food on the table, and paying the rent to notice the restlessness of his unappreciated wife. Viggo Mortensen is the mysterious blouse man who has the same dreams of escape as Pearl, but puts his fantasies on the walls of his home in the form of photographs showing the places he longs to see.

Anna Paquin continues to prove that her Oscar winning performance in "The Piano" was no fluke. Her growth as an actress continues to amaze me. She plays the late blooming fourteen year old daughter of Pearl and Marty with all the wonder of her age. From first date to first kiss, her journey of self discovery is just as rewarding as that of the first man on the moon, and just as fraught with the unknown as her mother’s affair.

Tony Goldwyn has performed an amazing feat, tilting the balance of "A Walk on the Moon" in many different directions without losing the heart of the story - the inevitable changes taking place on the moon, in society, and in the Kantrowitz family. As a couple married early in life, Marty and Pearl belong to a generation anchored to a set of post-war values that idealized the family. But they are still young enough to be influenced by the clarion call that questions the old social order. A key moment has Marty listening to a Dylan record for the first time. He moves clumsily to the beat but pays attention to the lyrics. Later the acceptance of Jimi Hendrix music shows that the times, they are a changin’ - for everyone.

I knew I was hooked by "A Walk on the Moon" when I realized there were several prescient moments that I had all but forgotten until the end of the movie. I was so involved with the lives of the people I never gave them a second thought. The ideas from these scenes re-emerged with the subtlety of a lover’s sigh. The effect was magical. "A Walk on the Moon" is a giant leap in the artistic growth of everyone involved in this picture. I was profoundly moved.