For those of you who don't know, Moonlight Mile is my favourite film of all time. I saw it the day it came out (Oct. 4, 2002), and have wanted to crawl into it and live ever since. Maybe it is my love of Massachusetts, or of the 1970s, or of simpler times that first drew me in. Perhaps it is the fact that it contains every single one of my favourite actors. Or that there is a great Post Office scene (my affinity for POs is odd and rarely indulged on the silver screen). I can't say. But I was hooked from the opening scene, and from the first moment Joe Nast (Jake Gyllenhaal) graced the screen, I was head over heels in love. And not just in the way of, "Oh, this character is wonderful; I find him attractive." It was really more of a depressive, guttural longing for a real-world equivalent. I would marry Joe Nast on sight, and marriage is not a concept you will hear me longing for often (as in ever...this is the girl for whom the idea of a white dress and big ceremony are positively horrifying and completely out-of-character, who wants to to married at City Hall and go to a Celtics game afterwards...and not a second before I am 30). Which is ironic, given my love of decorating, and big, classy parties, and fashion. I love other people's big weddings; I just don't want that for myself). Wow...check out that overly personal divulgence and divergence from the main point. THIS is why I don't like talking to strangers...I am honest to a fault, get nervous, end up rambling, and giving way too much information. Anyway.
The other characters prove equally ineffable. I would love to have JoJo (Susan Sarandon) as a mentor, benefitting from her unapologetic, acerbic sarcasm and the beautiful, simplistic honesty of her sentiments. Bertie would have been a perfect best friend growing up, and even now, I wish she were around to play a game of pick-up, hang out at the bar, and torment the boys in our similarly unassuming ways. And Ben. Poor Ben. He just needs to lower his shoulders.
It is always interesting when people ask me what my favourite movie is, as no one I have ever answered this question for has ever seen, let alone heard of, Moonlight Mile. So I am encouraging all of you to put it at the top of your Netflix itineraries. Although, I can't pretend that it's not most enjoyable to watch in the fall...it *is* set in Marblehead, MA, after all, as the leaves are changing and thick, oversized down coats become necessary.
I promise you won't be disappointed. It is such a beautiful film, and in the way that people who love bands that no one has ever heard of feel idiotically self-righteous, I feel quite unreasonably proud to claim this overlooked treasure as my film of choice.
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