The Man in the Moon
| The Man in the Moon | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | Robert Mulligan |
| Produced by | Mark Rydell |
| Written by | Jenny Wingfield |
| Starring | |
| Music by | James Newton Howard |
| Cinematography | Freddie Francis |
| Edited by | Trudy Ship |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
|
Release date
|
October 4, 1991 |
|
Running time
|
99 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2,853,801 (USA) |
The Man in the Moon is a 1991 American coming of age drama film directed by Robert Mulligan (in his final film) and is also Reese Witherspoon's film debut.
In the summer of 1957, Dani Trant (Reese Witherspoon) is a 14-year-old girl in North Carolina who, according to her father, is "too big to be running off by herself." Dani and her older sister Maureen (Emily Warfield), who is going off to college in the fall, are very close. Maureen helps take care of their younger sister, Missy, while their mother Abigail (Tess Harper) is pregnant. Dani however prefers to run off into the neighbor's pond to go swimming in the nude. It is here that she meets her new neighbor, 17-year-old Court Foster (Jason London). Court kicks Dani out of his pond. When Dani goes home, her mother tells her to wash up because an old friend is coming for dinner with her children. The Trants' old friend turns out to be a widow, Mrs. Foster (Gail Strickland) with her three sons Court, Dennis, and Rob. When Dani realizes who Court is, the two dislike each other. Court calls Dani "a little girl". When Dani's father Matthew (Sam Waterston) tells Dani to accompany Court into town for groceries, Dani and Court drive into town and start to get along. Dani finally realizes that she is in love with Court.
Maureen goes on a date to a dance with her boyfriend Billy Sanders (Bentley Mitchum). When they leave the dance, Billy wants to park his car and have sex. Maureen gets angry and breaks up with Billy because she believes "love should be beautiful". The next day, Dani asks Maureen for advice on how to kiss a boy. Maureen demonstrates by practicing on her hand. Dani and Court continue to go swimming during the hot sunny days and become very close friends. The two agree to meet to go swimming at night, since Court has too much work to do during the day. Dani sneaks off and swims with Court until they reach the point where they are about to kiss. Court pushes Dani away and says she is a little girl that doesn't know what she's doing, and runs off home. Dani leaves too just as a thunderstorm is breaking out. Abigail wakes up, knowing Dani isn't home, and runs outside looking for her. Just as Dani gets home, and runs to her mother, her mother also runs and trips on a root, landing on her stomach. Dani's father races her to the hospital, where she is kept for treatment. When her father returns home from the hospital, he spanks Dani with his belt. The next day, Court brings food to the Trant house and apologizes to Dani for the other night. Dani, still hurt, just ignores him at first, until Court says he would still like to be friends. The next time they go swimming the two share Dani's first kiss. Dani is still hurt and angry at her father for hitting her. When he tries to talk to her the next day feeling remorseful for using his belt on her, she only replies with "Yes Sir" or "No Sir" to his questions.
...
Wikipedia