Review of The Man in the Moon (1991) by Cory T — 05 Sep 2008

"The Man in the Moon" is so many things: it's a coming-of-age story that deals with the cruelly unusual newness of budding sexuality. It's a film about the sweet simplicity of being a child, though wishing so badly that time moved faster and you weren't "so young." What this movie really is about, though, is something I dare not reveal other than to say what the man in the moon is, truly moved me.

This is a movie that, upon generalizing and objectively seeing plot points, gets reduced to some sort of melodramatic throwaway. The potential for disaster is constant, but everything clicks exactly as it should and ends more than perfectly.

Reese Witherspoon, in this her first theatrical debut, truly does give a wonderful performance. Her character experiences a lot through the course of the narrative, encapsulating what feels like a lifetime of wisdom and bittersweet acknowledgment.

That bittersweet acknowledgment is the absolute best thing about this film; there comes a moment in everyone's life when they realize certain things that will never be the same, no matter how badly we want them to be. For some, there may be more than one moment like this. For some, it may come as a rush of emotional awareness.

First love- and its impending doom, if you will- is perfectly relayed in this movie. This is a slightly rare thing, but I can currently think of two films set in rural areas and teenage relationships centralize the character's thoughts and actions. "Tully" and "All the Real Girls" are wonderful examples, but perhaps it is that chronologically, this film got it right first. Another comparible element is the simplicity of scenes: For instance, when Witherspoon's character has her first kiss. There is a slow, quiet nature to the scene that seems to illuminate what is happening on the screen. It may seem silly to think about, but what about from her perspective? First kisses are things you never get out of your head and, most importantly, when they are consensually welcomed, nothing else in the world exists. This movie understands that feeling. Mostly, it is never condescending to any of its characters and allows them room to make mistakes and realize both the intense joys and equally intense pains of living. Films rarely can do that, for they are so stuck on the traintracks of their plots, real life is but a tool in the box of "ordinary" filmmaking.

If you notice, I have refrained from discussing what happens. Two reasons: This is a film that shouldn't be explained, just experienced and then praised. Secondly, when a film is so wonderfully crafted that it seems to stand outside of its medium, the audience cannot help but feel persuaded into an allegorical frenzy.

"The Man in the Moon" is a movie that, for all its potentially heavy-handed material, never steps ahead of itself. In a rare and wonderful turn, a film plays itself out as real life, not scripted scenes.