“A Walk On The Moon” is a Watch with a Swoon

imageTony Goldwyn’s A Walk on the Moon (B+) is an unexpected sleeper of a melodrama and a highly recommended movie of 1999. An unfulfilled homemaker, played beautifully by Diane Lane, quietly suffers as the tumultuous events of the summer of 1969 unfold on the surface of her TV screen. But, when she invites a dashing traveling salesman (Viggo Mortensen) into the safety of her living room for the live broadcast of the historic moon landing, they begin a passionate affair that threatens to destroy her marriage to her by-the-books high school sweetheart, sturdily played by Liev Schreiber. Goldwyn does a great job working with the actors, including Anna Paquin as the wise family daughter, who give lived-in qualities to the characters. The film is also a superb depiction of a time period in transition, with Woodstock and Vietnam era references and songs such as “Purple Haze” on the soundtrack. It’s sexy, symbolic and pulls you in.

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