Moonlight Mile film review

certificate_15

MOONLIGHT MILE

Joe Nast (Jake Gyllenhaal) is standing at a crossroads in his life, following the senseless murder of his beautiful fiancee Cheryl (Aleksia Landeau) in a shooting at a diner. He feels compelled to offer support and love to Cheryl's devoted parents, Ben (Dustin Hoffman) and JoJo (Susan Sarandon), but also knows that he must try to get on with his own life.

Joe goes to stay with his parents-in-law for the funeral service and agrees to stay on until he has worked out what he wants to do with his life. Ben offers the lad a job working alongside him in real estate, hoping that by spending more time with Joe, he adopt the role of surrogate father.

Desperate to keep everyone happy, Joe duly accepts, and throws himself into his apprenticeship. Matters are complicated when Joe develops an attraction to bar owner Bertie Knox (Ellen Pompeo), who also runs the local post office.

Torn between the memory of Cheryl and his own heart, Joe must decide where his future lies, and whether he is brave enough to face the consequences.

Moonlight Mile is a sensitively handled portrait of grief, focusing on three people struggling to come to terms with their loss and the fragility of life. Writer-director Brad Silberling, who traversed similarly tearful territory in City Of Angels with Meg Ryan and Nicolas Cage, draws out powerhouse performances from the leads with emotionally charged speeches and confrontations.

All three leads are given their moment in the spotlight, invariably breaking down in floods of tears as they rail against the world.

Gyllenhaal confirms his status as one of the finest young actors in Hollywood, delivering a measured and emotionally rich performance. Hoffman and Sarandon bristle with anger and disbelief at the injustice of the daughter's death - an anger which they transfer to Joe when they discover his infatuation with Bertie.

On the down side, Pompeo's love interest is far too weak to act as a catalyst for Joe's monumental final decision, which undermines the fireworks of the final 20 minutes.