I somewhat have an affinity for Viggo Mortensen (The Road, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring). His movie Eastern Promises (the only film he has received an Academy Award nomination for) was the first movie I ever reviewed for my blog. It wasn’t the most straightforward movie to review and one that I would like to see one day again and then read what I wrote for that first review, but that will be something that comes later. He’s a solid actor who seems to do fewer and fewer movies each year, but when he’s on his A-game, there aren’t many who are better. I had never heard of A Walk On the Moon before it showed up as a Netflix recommendation. I quickly threw it in the queue, and I’m glad I did. In addition to a fabulous performance by Mortensen, this was a solid movie with one of the significant foundations of human life at the forefront. It’s the most surprising movie I’ve seen this year, and I may have to reevaluate my 1999 top 10 list. I’m guessing this movie won’t be quite good enough to get on there, but there might be a chance. Maybe this review will be the deciding factor.
So the movie was based in 1969. It involves a Jewish family from New York who, like every summer, packs up the car and drives to Dr. Folger’s Bungalows, their summer home away from home. Not much changes except the location and the fact that husband Marty (Liev Schreiber – The Manchurian Candidate, Showtime’s Ray Donovan) has to work back in the city and is thus only able to spend time with wife Pearl (Diane Lane – Unfaithful, Must Love Dogs), daughter Allison (Anna Paquin – The Piano, HBO’s True Blood), son Bobby, and his mother-in-law on the weekends. Pearl loves her husband and family and is satisfied with her life, but, like many of us, she can’t help but think, “What If?” What if she hadn’t married the only man with who she’s ever had sex. What if she hadn’t married so young and started a family with Marty? What if she had explored the world or lived out some of her other dreams? This movie ultimately is about wondering if what you have is good enough and, if it isn’t, what, if anything, will you do about it?
Though set in 1969 (and if you happen not to know, that is the year that man walked on the moon for the first time), the questions posed aren’t different from the ones of today. We all question our lives and some point in time. Probably most of us examine our relationships. Many of us fall in and out of love with our romantic partners. And perhaps most of us try to reconcile that. But the divorce rate in America is high. And the number of people who cheat on others is through the roof. I was not alive in 1969, so I don’t know what it was like. It seemed like a very carefree time, and I imagine that many people who married earlier or were in situations that inhibited them from experiencing free love might have been jealous. But I know what it was like to live in 2015 and how easy it is to cheat on someone else without your partner ever finding out. For the number of people who get caught cheating, I am sure that the number of people who do cheat is exponentially higher. The more you think in your head, “Oh, my husband/wife would never cheat on me,” the more oblivious I think you might be. I realize that is a highly cynical thing to say, but I believe that everybody cheats or everybody wants to cheat.
And to harp on this point a little bit more, at least three people are affected when a person decides to cheat on someone else. You have the cheater, the person they are cheating on with, and the person being cheated on. Of course, many more parties could be involved, but a minimum of these three. Except for death, I am not sure I can think of a more hurtful scenario than having someone cheat on you. I’ve been the person who has been cheated on before, and it doesn’t feel very good. You feel lower than life. It is notably worse when the person who cheated on you begins having a wonderful relationship with the person she cheated on you with. I think it’s bad enough when you break up with someone, and they start dating someone new quickly. I think it’s even worse when they break up with you because they want to start dating someone new. In your head, you can’t help but wonder if something had already begun or if promises had already been made. In either regard, whether that person cheated on you physically becomes somewhat mute because they’ve already cheated on you in their heart. But when you are so invested in the other person that you get married and have that happen, I can’t even imagine what it must feel like. So going back to the start of this paragraph, because, at minimum, three people are affected when someone decides to cheat, you would hope that all three people go through the gamut of emotions. I hope and pray that people don’t cheat without having any remorse or disregard for feelings for those that they have hurt. I am sure that some show little or no remorse, but that would never be something I would be able to comprehend. Even if my relationship with the cheating person or the person I was cheating on were terrible, I would still feel horrendous. If the relationship is beyond repair, end it, be sad, and move on. Please don’t have something waiting in the wings or something you’ve already started. I hate to use the word Karma because, while we all go through downtimes, some people have more difficult lives than others, and others have to be sad much more. I find fault in the person engaging with the man/woman in a relationship too. Know your place. Back away. There are plenty of men and women out there who are not in a relationship. Please find one of them to pursue.
Cheating is an entirely selfish move that is all too easy to do. What is it that stops a person from doing it? (let’s leave the family scenario out of it. The question I am posing has no children involved) A guilty conscience? If you are thinking about cheating and are putting yourself in a position where you could cheat, it is only a matter of time before you do. As mentioned earlier, you have probably already cheated on the person you are with on the inside of your heart before you do anything physical. I don’t know if I am even saying not to do it. If that’s your intent, then maybe you should do it. Perhaps, in the long run, the three people will be better off for it. But I have a problem with the hurt involved and the idea that the cheater has something waiting that they believe could be better.
***Start of Spoilers**
Back to the movie! In A Walk on the Moon, it is Pearl who cheats. With Marty out of town and Mortensen’s Walker Malone wooing her with his irresistible charm and incredibly good looks, she is caught up in the moment’s passion. And she does have plenty of doubts. And she does try to temper her enthusiasm. She loves Marty and doesn’t want to hurt him. But there’s an excitement that she’s been missing her entire life. She talks about it with others, and with Lane’s portrayal of Pearl, we realize that it isn’t a question of if but when. And when she does, will it be more than a one-time thing, or will one encounter suffice. What happens when Marty finds out? I am of the mindset that if someone cheats on me, the relationship is over. How could I ever trust that person again? I know that others see it differently. If we bring kids into that equation, it is a realistic assumption that some will stay in the relationship for the children’s sake. I don’t have children, so I don’t know what I would do. I know that whatever relationship I had with the woman who cheated on me beforehand would be irrevocably changed. After seeing how ruthless Schreiber has been in the fabulous Ray Donovan, it is interesting to see him play a vulnerable character (even if it was 15 years ago). In Ray Donovan, Schreiber’s character likes to control the situation. And when he cannot, he often takes extreme measures to ensure he can. I loved seeing him play a character that I felt was the exact opposite of that. I won’t give away the ending here, but I thought it to be somewhat believable. I don’t know. I might have to watch it again just for the finish. Lane’s Pearl seemed genuine in her remorse.
***End of Spoilers***
Plot 9/10
Character Development 9/10
Character Chemistry 8.5/10 (Lane and Mortensen sizzle)
Acting 9/10 (again, Lane and Mortensen are great, and Schreiber portrays a character with a much softer side than we are accustomed to seeing)
Screenplay 9/10 (heart-wrenching at times….real always)
Directing 8.5/10 (solid effort for first-time director Goldwyn)
Cinematography 9/10 (certainly felt what I imagined a beach to be like in 1969)
Sound 8/10
Hook and Reel 8.5/10 (glued from the first scene as the close-knit family traveled from the city to the beach singing songs and enjoying each other’s company)
Universal Relevance 9/10 (universal problems in 1969 – when the film was set, 1999 – when the film was made, and 2015 – when this review was written)
87.5%
Movies You Might Like If You Liked This Movie
- Blue Valentine
- Nights in Rodanthe
- Inventing the Abbotts
- Closer
- Unfaithful