Moonlight Mile (2002)

Director:

Brad Silberling

Writer (WGA):

Brad Silberling (written by)

Release Date:

4 October 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

In life and love, expect the unexpected.

Plot:

As he copes with the death of his fiancee along with her parents, a young man must figure out what he wants out of life.

Plot Keywords:

Fiancee | Death | District Attorney | 1970s | Death Of Girlfriend

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Jake Gyllenhaal	...	Joe Nast
Dustin Hoffman	...	Ben Floss
Susan Sarandon	...	Jojo Floss
Aleksia Landeau	...	Cheryl
Ellen Pompeo	...	Bertie Knox
Richard Messing	...	Rabbi
Lev Friedman	...	Cantor
Bob Clendenin	...	Server #1 (as Robert Clendenin)
Jim Fyfe	...	Server #2
Mary Ellen Trainor	...	Mrs. Meyerson
Richard Fancy	...	Mr. Meyerson
Marcia Mitzman Gaven	...	Fashion Plate
Allan Corduner	...	Stan Michaels
Holly Hunter	...	Mona Camp
Careena Melia	...	Diana Floss

Also Known As:

Baby's in Black (USA) (working title)
Goodbye Hello (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sensuality and brief strong language.

Runtime:

Argentina:146 min | Canada:112 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | USA:117 min | UK:116 min | Portugal:120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | Portugal:M/12 (original rating) | Iceland:L | Finland:K-11 | Canada:A (Ontario) | South Korea:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:PG | Chile:TE | Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Epsilon Motion Pictures

Trivia:

When Jake Gyllenhaal and Dustin Hoffman are sitting on the park bench talking, the scene is actually two locations. When you see them from the front, that is in Marblehead, Massachusetts. When you see them from behind, you're seeing Gloucester, Massachusetts (where Perfect Storm was filmed). You can see evidence of the two locations in the bench they are sitting on - the numbers and thickness of the slates change at the different points of view.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Joe Nast and Ben Floss are walking down the street, the car holding the camera is reflected in the storefront windows.

Quotes:

Joe Nast: The truth is hard. Sometimes it looks so wrong, y'know. The color's off, the style's wrong, but I guess... I guess it's where the good ones live.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

Soundtrack:

Haydn: Quartet #12 in C Major, Opus 9, No. 1, Adagio

Great acting is enough

This is a very well acted movie that deals with a sudden loss in a family in a better way than I would expect. The movie avoids the usual clichés and through some very strong performances shows us how it could really be. The dead person is the daughter of Ben (Dustin Hoffman) and Jojo (Susan Sarandon), her fiancé named Joe (Jake Gyllenhaal) is now living with them. The girl was murdered, simply because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now Ben and Joe go into business together and the all try to live on in their own ways. Joe befriends a girl named Bertie Knox (Ellen Pompeo) who also has lost someone.

Like I said the subject is handled in a very good way. May be the movie makes some easy choices, especially near the end, but the acting is so good and real here that the movie is easily forgiven. Gyllenhaal plays the same kind of part as he did in 'Donnie Darko' and 'The Good Girl', not the most happy one. He has the best single scene, although overall veterans Hoffman and Sarandon are as good as he is. The best thing though is Ellen Pompeo. Her character has a certain sweetness and nice way of dealing with things and Pompeo finds the perfect note for playing this part. See it for the acting and you will find a lot more.