The Man in the Moon

A fourteen-year-old-girl; a seventeen-year-old boy; somewhere in the South, in 1957. Hearing the rough details, one might be tempted to roll one's eyes, and indeed I did. Then I saw Reese Witherspoon's knockout performance and took in the impeccable direction by Robert Mulligan ("To Kill A Mockingbird," "Summer of '42" -- this was to be his last movie). In a word: Delightful. In two more words: Charming and poignant. Not bad, given how the script by Jenny Wingfield vacillates between exacting delicacy and broad melodrama.

"The Man in the Moon" is described by essayist Julie Kirgo (who wrote the notes for this Twilight Time release, as she does for all of them) as a "coming of age" story centered -- for once -- on a girl. If "coming of age" means "sexual awakening," then, yes. Dani (Witherspoon) is poised no the verge of adolescence; while she spins her Elvis 45s, her older sister Maureen (Emily Warfield) -- at the age of 17 just a few years older -- treads the treacherous terrain of lustful suitors (and their creepy fathers). The sisters are close and talk about boys along with all their other problems. Then a new boy moves back to the long-abandoned farm next door.

His name is Court Foster (Jason London), and he's both boyishly energetic and mature beyond his years. He had to be: Following his father's untimely death he's now the man of the family, though his mother Marie (Gail Strickland) is no pushover. Court and Dani meet cute -- and sassy -- in a swimming hole on the Fosters' land, and after an initially unfriendly exchange they grow close. For Dani, it's first love; but Court, ever the gentleman, has a sense of decorum about such things, and while he's attracted to Dani's spark and pluck, he's all too keenly aware of the difference in their ages.

There are some parental dramas going on around the margins -- a difficult pregnancy for Dani's mother (Tess Harper), business worries for her father (Sam Waterston) -- and the older generation do keep a protective eye on their young ones, but they don't stifle the kids. Dani's father soon realizes what's going on, but he's smart enough to know placing Court off limits to Dani won't help anything. He's right about that; the situation seems set to resolve itself once Court meets Maureen while paying Dani a visit, and his hormones surge. Since the two are the same age, Court has no compunctions about the way things between himself and Maureen are soon headed, even though Maureen does mount a minimal protest ("She's my sister!" she says, worried for Dani's feelings).

The story follows a fairly simplistic outline, but the emotions are complex, and so are the performances. This sweet, memorable film is pure nostalgia -- for one's own youth, and for a more innocent, less toxic America. It's a fantasy, in other words, but one that seems to be inhabited by real people.

Aside from Kirgo's essay and an isolated score track for James Newton Howard's music, there are no extras on this Blu-ray edition. But who needs 'em? All you really want from this movie is what it offers you straight up: A refreshing, familiar, and yet unique, story about discovering the contradictions and rewards of love.

"The Man in the Moon"
Blu-ray
$29.95
https://www.twilighttimemovies.com/man-in-the-moon-the-blu-ray