The Man in the Moon **** (1991, Reese Witherspoon, Jason London, Sam Waterston, Tess Harper, Gail Strickland) – Classic Movie Review 2883

Director Robert Mulligan’s lovely 1991 romantic drama stars Reese Witherspoon as an adolescent girl, the 14-year-old Dani Trant, who falls head over heels for her older cousin Court Foster (Jason London). He in turn fancies her beautiful, smart older sister Maureen (Emily Warfeld), who is off to uni in the autumn.

It is rural Louisiana in the summer of 1957 and it all starts when 17-year-old Court, his widowed mom (Gail Strickland), and two little brothers move into the vacant farm next door to Dani. Sam Waterston plays Dani’s strict father, who wants a son, and her mother (Tess Harper) is pregnant with her fourth child.

Director Mulligan recreates late-Fifties America to great effect in this warm, winning and winsome coming-of-age story, which for once is centred on a strong female character, with two other strong roles for co-stars Tess Harper as Abigail Trant and Gail Strickland as Marie Foster.

The strong acting, Freddie Francis’s cinematography and Jenny Wingfield’s clear, crisp, telling screenplay combine under Mulligan’s expert touch to make this sweet, lovingly crafted little movie an all-round success.

Witherspoon makes her first mark in the movies in her film debut at the tender age of 14. ‘I went to an open cattle-call audition and ended up with one of the leads,’ she says. It is also London’s feature film debut.

Also in the cast are Bentley Mitchum, Ernie Lively, Dennis Letts, Earleen Bergson, Anna Chappell, Brandi Smith, Sandi Smith, Derek Ball and Spencer Ball.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2883

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