The Man in the Moon

For other uses, see Man in the Moon (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Man on the Moon (film).

The Man in the Moon
File:Man in the moonposter.jpg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Robert Mulligan
Produced by	Mark Rydell
Written by	Jenny Wingfield
Starring	Sam Waterston Tess Harper Jason London Emily Warfield Reese Witherspoon Patrick Hallisy
Music by	James Newton Howard
Cinematography	Freddie Francis
Edited by	Trudy Ship
Production company	Pathé Entertainment
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release dates	October 4, 1991 (1991-10-04)
Running time	99 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$6.6 million
Box office	$2.8 million

The Man in the Moon is a 1991 American coming of age drama film. It was the final film directed by Robert Mulligan, from a screenplay written by Jenny Wingfield. It stars Reese Witherspoon in her film debut, Sam Waterston, Tess Harper, Emily Warfield, and Jason London.

The film’s story, set in rural 1950s Louisiana, centers around Dani (Witherspoon), a 14-year-old tomboy who experiences first love and heartbreak when older boy Court (London) moves next door. The film received critical acclaim, making Roger Ebert’s list of the Top 10 Films of 1991.

Plot

In the summer of 1957, Danielle "Dani" Trant is a 14-year-old girl in Louisiana who, according to her father Matthew, is "too small to be running off by herself." Dani and her older sister Maureen, who is going off to college in the fall, are very close. Maureen helps take care of their younger sister, Missy, while their mother Abigail is pregnant.

Instead of helping out, Dani prefers to listen to her Elvis Presley records and running off to the neighbor's creek to go skinny dipping. It is here that she meets her new neighbor, 17-year-old Court Foster. Court kicks Dani out of his creek. When Dani goes home, her mother tells her to wash up because an old childhood friend is coming for dinner with her children.

The Trants' old friend turns out to be a widow, Mrs. Foster, with her three sons Court, Dennis, and Rob. When Dani realizes who Court is, the two dislike each other. When Dani's father Matthew tells Dani to accompany Court into town for groceries, Dani and Court drive into town and start to get along. Dani develops a crush on Court.

Maureen goes on a date to a dance with her boyfriend Billy Sanders. When they leave the dance, Billy wants to park his car and have sex. Maureen gets angry and breaks up with Billy because she believes "love should be beautiful". The next day, Dani asks Maureen for advice on how to kiss a boy. Maureen demonstrates by practicing on her hand.

Dani and Court continue to go swimming during the hot sunny days and become good friends. The two agree to go swimming at night, since Court has too much work to do during the day. On one night, Dani and Court goof around in the water and almost reach a point where they are about to kiss. Court pushes Dani away and says she is a little girl that doesn't know what she's doing, and runs off home.

A thunderstorm breaks out just as Dani is returning home. Abigail wakes up and runs outside looking for Dani, accidentally tripping on a root in the process and suffering an injury. Dani's father races her to the hospital, where she is kept in order to treat a concussion and toxemia caused by her fall. When her father returns home from the hospital, he spanks Dani with his belt.

The next day, Court brings food to the Trant house and apologizes to Dani for the other night. Dani, still hurt, just ignores him at first, until Court says he would still like to be friends. The next time they go swimming the two share Dani's first kiss. Once Dani has made up with her father, he tells Dani to invite Court over once in a while so he can get to know him better.

When Court comes over for dinner, he finally meets Maureen. Dani can tell it is love at first sight for the two of them. While Dani visits her mother in the hospital, Court shows up at the Trant house where Maureen is home babysitting Missy. Though initially reluctant to return Court’s affections because she knows about Dani’s feelings for Court, Maureen gives in to Court's kiss.

Over the next few days, Dani is getting pushed away by Court. While the rest of the family goes to pick up Abigail and the new baby from the hospital, Court and Maureen proclaim their love for each other, consummating their love in a field. When Maureen sneaks back home, she is caught by Dani. Dani realizes Maureen was with Court, and angry at her sister’s betrayal, she runs towards Court’s farm alone. Meanwhile, Court has been plowing the fields and, distracted by daydreams of Maureen, falls off his tractor and gets into an accident. Dani arrives at Court’s, greeted with the sight of Court badly injured in the field cradled by his inconsolable mother. Dani races home to tell her father.

When Matthew returns home, he has some of Court's blood on his clothes and the family realizes that Court has died. Maureen hides her pain at first, while Dani bursts into tears. After Court's funeral, Dani continues to be angry at Maureen for stealing Court away from her. Matthew tells Dani that although she has a right to be hurt, being mad won't bring Court back, and Maureen will be her sister for life. Dani comforts Maureen as she weeps on Court's fresh grave, and the film ends with Maureen and Dani talking on the porch at night as the summer draws to a close, looking up at the moon, becoming close again.

Cast

• Sam Waterston as Matthew Trant
• Tess Harper as Abigail Trant
• Gail Strickland as Marie Foster
• Reese Witherspoon as Danielle "Dani" Trant
• Jason London as Court Foster
• Emily Warfield as Maureen Trant
• Bentley Mitchum as Billy Sanders
• Ernie Lively as Will Sanders
• Dennis Letts as Doc White
• Earleen Bergeron as Eileen Sanders
• Anna Chappell as Mrs. Taylor
• Brandi and Sandi Smith as Missy Trant
• Derek and Spencer Ball as Foster Twins

Production

The Man in the Moon marked the film debut of then 14-year-old Reese Witherspoon. Director Mulligan commented that casting her in the role of Dani was:

...risky business, to say the least. We had a casting team that went out and saw several thousand kids and tested them on video. When I saw Reese's test, she just jumped off the screen, simply as a personality. I couldn't tell whether she could act or not, but she's got a wonderful face and there's a brightness and intelligence there. Then, when I tested her in Santa Monica, a strange breakthrough took place. Early in the movie, Dani is a bit of a tomboy. Reese was trying to project this in a scene where she had to get angry with the boy, but it had a false ring to it. Because in real life she isn't a tomboy. She's a real "girl" girl. Just before we did another rehearsal, I told her I wanted her to chew gum. Well, she started chewing gum and all of a sudden the performance happened. She was tough. Strong. Direct. And the scene worked. Like that. In an instant, it was there. What was marvelous was, at the end of the scene, Reese knew that something happened. Her compass, her sense of what's real, kicked in. The motor was running and she knew it. It was funny because she said: "Can I always chew gum?" And I said: "Yeah."

The cinematography was by Academy Award-winning cinematographer Freddie Francis.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a rating of 91% based on 22 reviews, with a consensus that reads: "It's sentimental, and some viewers may feel manipulated by the melodramatic final act, but The Man in the Moon offers a finely drawn coming-of-age story with an excellent cast—including Reese Witherspoon in her film debut." On Metacritic it has a score of 73% based on reviews from 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Janet Maslin of The New York Times praised the performances of Waterston, Harper, and Strickland. Maslin also wrote, “Mr. Mulligan also gets an outstandingly natural performance out of Miss Witherspoon, who has no trouble carrying a lot of the film single-handedly. It falls to her to remind the audience that this story is at heart about a family, and she does.”

The film was highly praised by Roger Ebert, who awarded the film four stars in his review and included it at No. 8 in his Top 10 list of the best films of 1991, declaring:

Nothing else [Mulligan] has done... approaches the purity and perfection of The Man in the Moon. As the film approached its conclusion without having stepped wrong once, I wondered whether he could do it - whether he could maintain the poetic, bittersweet tone, and avoid the sentimentalism and cheap emotion that could have destroyed this story. Would he maintain the integrity of this material? He would, and he does.

Versions

Later, Mulligan became disenchanted with how the film was edited and cut by airlines, particularly American and Delta Air Lines, for in-flight showings. He became so disturbed by these airline edits to the picture that he insisted that his name be removed from the credits of the film.

External links

• The Man in the Moon at IMDb
• The Man in the Moon at the TCM Movie Database
• The Man in the Moon at AllMovie
• The Man in the Moon at Box Office Mojo