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Jake Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Susan Sarandon, Ellen Pompeo, Holly Hunter ... see more see more... , Richard T. Jones , Alan Corduner , Dabney Coleman , Alexia Landeau , Gordon Clapp , Lenny Clarke , Tom Dahlgren , Richard Fancy , Jim Fyfe , Roxanne Hart , Mark Lotito , Paul Pape , Mary Ellen Trainor , Edward Lachman , Paul Perri , Michael Molly , Colombe Jacobsen , Billy Percy , Robert Wahlberg , Phil Reeves , Rachel Singer , Bob Clendenin , Earl Slick , Audrey Marie Anderson , Mary Catherine Garrison , McNally Sagal , David Wheeler , John Balma , Elizabeth Janas , Caitlin McKenna , Marcia Mitzman Gaven , J. Tom Carey , Fatty , Lev Friedman , Jessica Gee , Gary Hetzler , Lisa Anne Hillman , Alexandra Hoffman , Lady , Careena Melia , Richard Messing , Dee Nelson , Virginia Newcomb , Sandy Simpson , Aleksia Landeau , Allan Corduner

Frequent television director Brad Silberling directs the romantic drama Moonlight Mile. Set in a Massachusetts town in the early '70s, Joe Nast (Jake Gyllenhaal) is distraught after the death of his f... read more read more...iancée. He moves in with her parents, Ben (Dustin Hoffman) and JoJo (Susan Sarandon), while trying to sort out all of the legal troubles and painful details of the wedding cancellations. While trying to locate the wedding invitations in the mail, Joe meets Bertie (Ellen Pompeo), whose boyfriend has been MIA in Vietnam. Despite his growing relationship with his late fiancée's parents, Joe begins to foster a romance with Bertie. Also starring Dabney Coleman and Holly Hunter. Moonlight Mile is based on Brad Silberling's real-life situation following the murder of his TV-star girlfriend Rebecca Schaeffer. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Flixster Users

63% liked it

9,841 ratings

Critics

62% liked it

146 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 57 min.

Directed by: Brad Silberling

Release Date: September 27, 2002

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DVD Release Date: March 11, 2003

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Stats: 498 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (498)

  • ythelastman89
    September 14, 2010
    ythelastman89
    Really a great movie in every respect. A very distinct visual style, unique story and an a perfect cast. The 70s atmosphere somehow fits perfectly into the plot, maybe because Jake Gyllenhaal's character emulates the generation almost exactly. The sense of loss is done well, it's... read more not like every other movie where someone dies. This shows the true awkwardness that comes along with a funeral service, false attachment and mixed emotions. Dustin Hoffman and Susan Sarandon play pretty different characters than they're used to, there's a very weak and childish way in how they act. This is a movie that is very particular in its message and it succeeds completely. It becomes such a powerful experience by the end.
  • dreamfaeries
    September 2, 2010
    dreamfaeries
    Heartbreaking, but beautiful. The film was honest and real and really pulls you in at the heartstrings. I liked it... Great cast, great music, and great story.
  • LWOODS04
    August 16, 2010
    LWOODS04
    Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Susan Sarandon, Ellen Pompeo, Holly Hunter, Dabney Coleman, Aleksia Landeau, Careena Melia, Mary Ellen Trainor, Lev Friedman, Bob Clendenin, Jim Fyfe, Richard Fancy, Marcia Mitzman Gaven, Allan Corduner

    Directed by: Brad Silberling

    Su... read moremmary: Susan Sarandon and Dustin Hoffman co-star as the grieving mother and father of a recently deceased girl who take in their daughter's fiancé (Jake Gyllenhaal) because he's the only living connection they have to their only child. Problems arise when the young man falls in love with a woman (Ellen Pompeo) whose boyfriend has gone missing, prompting his former in-laws-to-be to come to grips with the new relationship.

    My Thoughts: "The story pulled me in almost instantly. Great job by Gyllenhaal. His court room scene was very emotional. Sarandon and Hoffman both have their tear-jerker moments as well. Sarandon has this scene where she's sitting on her daughter's bed drinking as Gyllenhaal is climbing through the window, and she just breaks down and its just really sad. She's such an amazing actress. She always makes her characters feel real. Never seen Ellen Pompeo play such a big part in a film. I thought she was great in this. Just really good acting in this film. Although this is an emotional film, there is also quite of bit of humor throughout the film. The relationships between the three leads are honest, and realistic. This film has a great script with a great cast. Also the music in the movie is pretty great as well. Just a sad, honest, real, emotional, and funny film."
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    June 4, 2010
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "In life and love, expect the unexpected."

    As he copes with the death of his fiancee along with her parents, a young man must figure out what he wants out of life.

    REVIEW

    Strong acted and char... read moreacter driven drama about the aftermath of a family's sudden and violent loss of their beloved adult daughter and the bonding between them and her fiancé (Gyllenhaal effectively conveying awkward grievance) in a small New England hamlet circa 1973. Before starring in a hit drama medical show, Ellen Pompeo gives a nicely nuanced performance as a potential love interest/soul mate-in-waiting he meets. Hoffman and Sarandon are especially effective in their muted emotions that frequently spring freely into painful turmoil. Written and directed by Brad Silberling loosely based on his own true-life account in the tragic murder of his fiancée actress Rebecca Schaeffer.
  • wildaly14
    May 14, 2007
    wildaly14
    A movie that is not great but I liked anyway. Good cast.
  • mjgildea
    November 13, 2006
    mjgildea
    Great cast, slightly weak story.
  • gator681
    June 2, 2005
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]"Moonlight Mile" starts out on the day of the funeral for Diana, fiancee to Joe Nast(Jake Gyllenhaal) and daughter to Jojo(Susan Sarandon) and Ben Floss(Dustin Hoffman). Diana was shot and killed by a man while waiting for her father in a restaurant. Joe is... read more now living with his would-be in-laws as he prepares to become a partner in Joe's commercial real estate business.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]I did not realize at first that "Moonlight Mile" was set in the early 1970's which got me thinking about how cliche-free it is. It perfectly balances pathos with humor in showing the awkwardness surrounding the funeral and mourning of a loved one. (And despite it also being about the violent death of a grown child, it puts the unconscionable and incompetently made "In the Bedroom" to shame.) There is a perfect use of period music. The movie is well-filmed, often in natural light. And nobody can do awkward as well as Jake Gyllenhaal. This is the best role that Susan Sarandon has had in the past decade. Even with this great cast, Ellen Pompeo nearly runs off with the movie playing a winsome postmistress. [/font]
  • xxdebxx
    April 7, 2011
    xxdebxx
    In "Moonlight Mile" a middle aged couple (Dustin Hoffman as Ben and Susan Sarandon as Jo Jo), along with their prospective son-in-law Joe (Jake Gyllenhaal) attempt to come to terms with the sudden, senseless murder of their daughter Diane who was killed in a domestic dispute betw... read moreeen two other people just three days before her wedding.

    Unbeknownst to Ben and Jo Jo, Joe and Diana had broken up, but Ben is so determined to keep him a part of the family that Joe feels compelled to stay. He decides to remain in town living with her parents to help them deal with their shock and grief. They also have to deal with the murder trial of the gunman, whose wife and his intended target awakens from her coma just as the trial is about to start.

    Joe struggles to move beyond the emotional and material expectations which his broken engagement has left him to fulfill, trying not to disappoint his would-be in-laws while at the same time wanting to embark on a new life and a new relationship with a woman he has recently met. Ellen Pompeo is also wonderful as Bertie, the mail clerk and part-time waitress who is no stranger to tragedy losing her own boyfriend as well. Her uncertainty about her future provides Joe some insight into his own psyche.

    Holly Hunter's plays the tough, single-minded prosecutor prosecuting the man who is responsible for Diane's death who needs Joe's help to bring Diane's murderer to justice.
  • danieljparsons
    October 21, 2006
    danieljparsons
    Quite possibly one my favourite movies (yes, really); it portrays grief and guilt realistically and is poignant without being sentimental (aside from a just-about-forgivable courtroom scene towards the end). Gyllenhaal gives a performance that surely would have had directors spee... read mored-dialling his agent, had the movie been the box-office success it deserved. Five stars.
  • mvieaddict
    September 24, 2009
    mvieaddict
    Image and video hosting by TinyPic
    Dustin Hoffman and Susan Sarandon were perfect in this movie, but even so they could not save this movie.This was an unrealistic dram... read morea romance with scenes that were so cliche. This movie was a waste of time. The court scenes were very unsatisfactory. I waited for an explanation for this eye contacts but there was nothing Jake Gyllenhaal performance was bad and he could not make his role believable. Some scenes were okay but most of them were very empty. I was disappointed.

View All Moonlight Mile Reviews

Critic Reviews

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
November 4, 2002
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

An awfully good, achingly human picture.

October 4, 2002
Washington Post

A combination of good story, nice moments and appealing texture.

October 4, 2002
Washington Post

The film isn't very likable.

Eric Harrison
October 4, 2002
Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle

A gem of a movie. Full Review

Susan Stark
October 4, 2002
Susan Stark, Detroit News

Despite all the expert acting that goes into it, Moonlight Mile finally becomes a militantly soulful exercise. It makes even the most sensitive, tenderhearted viewer feel somehow inadequate. That's no... Full Review

October 4, 2002
Detroit Free Press

While it is not autobiographical in the strict sense, it is so obviously heartfelt and personally observed that we feel almost as liberated and relieved as Silberling must have felt as this story came... Full Review

Steven Rosen
October 4, 2002
Steven Rosen, Denver Post

Rewarding for what it attempts and often achieves. Full Review

Wesley Morris
October 4, 2002
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

The first half of Moonlight Mile feels like the runaway trailer for a movie that can't wait to jerk your tears. But to quote Joe in a moment of epiphany, there's a 'truth enema' out there, and, boy, i... Full Review

Robert Denerstein
October 4, 2002
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News

Like its New England characters, most of whom wander about in thick clouds of denial, the movie eventually gets around to its real emotional business, striking deep chords of sadness.

Bill Muller
October 4, 2002
Bill Muller, Arizona Republic

Moonlight Mile treats grief like a new product on the Home Shopping Network, wrapping it in bright packaging, giving it a snappy catchphrase and offering a special deal that's good only for the next t...

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Moonlight Mile Trivia

  • In which movie did Jake Gyllenhaal live with his dead fiancee's parents?  Answer »
  • Which of these choices did Jake Gyllenhaal star in all?  Answer »
  • Which actress played Jake Gyllenhaal's love interest in the film MOONLIGHT MILE?  Answer »
  • Who's first four big roles were in alliterated movie titles: Bubble Boy, Donnie Darko, Moonlight Mile, and The Good Girl?  Answer »
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