October 26, 2002 -- "Moonlight Mile" is a movie which reminds me a lot of "In the Bedroom." Both movies are set in New England, and are about families dealing with personal tragedies. The difference is, "Moonlight Mile" is a slightly inferior movie, and it includes a love story as well as a tragedy.

Jake Gyllenhaal of "Donnie Darko" stars as Joe Nast, a young man who was scheduled to marry Diana Floss in a small town in Massachusetts, (it was filmed in and around Marblehead, Gloucester, Cohasset, Plum Island and Swampscott, Massachusetts). Joe had agreed to settle down in the town and work for Diana's father, Ben (Dustin Hoffman of "Wag the Dog"). Diana is murdered just a few days before the scheduled marriage in a senseless shooting. Joe stays with Ben and his wife, JoJo (Susan Sarandon of "The Banger Sisters"), to attend the funeral, and the trial of the killer. Joe is adopted by the Floss family, who clearly want him to stick around, but Joe is very uncomfortable with this odd arrangement. He has a dark secret that is eating him up.

While hanging around town like a third wheel, Joe meets a pretty young girl, Bertie Knox (Ellen Pompeo of "Catch Me if You Can") and falls in love. This puts him in an even more uncomfortable position. If the Flosses find out about his new love, they will also find out about his secret, and that will be unbearable. Bertie, like Joe, is hanging around town waiting for someone, her old love, who shipped off to the Vietnam war and has been missing in action for years (the film takes place in the early 1970s). Both Joe and Bertie, as well as the Flosses, are living the echoes of a former life. As you can tell, the story, written by the film's director, Brad Silberling ("City of Angels") requires considerable suspension of disbelief. In places, it also looks like a stage play with static interior shots of group conversations.

It is an awkward story, which is aided considerably by the top notch acting talent in the film, including Hoffman and Sarandon, while Gyllenhaal and Pompeo are the equal of the two veteran actors. Pompeo, especially, is a revelation. She seems to have some inner light of warmth that glows from the screen. Her performance is powerful and touching. Sarandon is terrific as the bereaved mother who defiantly refuses to be handled or comforted. Another good performance is turned in by Holly Hunter ("O Brother Where Art Thou"), who plays prosecuting attorney Mona Camp. This film serves as a reminder of what acting treasures Sarandon and Hoffman are, and it makes me wonder why we don't see more of them. The film is further aided by great cinematography by Phedon Papamichael ("Phenomenon"), including some unusual high angle shots, leading to novel transitions. The soundtrack is also offbeat, including, of course, "Moonlight Mile" by the Rolling Stones, with songs by Elton John, Sly and the Family Stones, Jethro Tull and Van Morrison, among others. This film rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy this movie in video and/or DVD format, the soundtrack, books, even used videos, games and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.