Shoot the Moon (1982)

A fifteen year marriage dissolves, leaving both the husband and wife, and their four children, devastated. He's preoccupied with a career and a mistress, she with a career and caring for ... See full summary »

Director:

Alan Parker

Writer:

Bo Goldman

Stars:

Albert Finney, Diane Keaton, Karen Allen

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Albert Finney	...	George Dunlap
Diane Keaton	...	Faith Dunlap
Karen Allen	...	Sandy
Peter Weller	...	Frank Henderson
Dana Hill	...	Sherry Dunlap
Viveka Davis	...	Jill Dunlap
Tracey Gold	...	Marianne Dunlap
Tina Yothers	...	Molly Dunlap
George Murdock	...	French DeVoe
Leora Dana	...	Charlotte DeVoe
Irving Metzman	...	Howard Katz
Kenneth Kimmins	...	Maitre D'
Michael Alldredge	...	Officer Knudson
Robert Costanzo	...	Leo Spinelli
David Landsberg	...	Scott Gruber

Storyline

A fifteen year marriage dissolves, leaving both the husband and wife, and their four children, devastated. He's preoccupied with a career and a mistress, she with a career and caring for four young children. While they attempt to go their separate ways, jealousy and bitterness reconnect them.

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Plot Keywords:

marital crisis | mistress | family relationships | bathtub | trailer narrated by hal douglas | 

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Taglines:

There's one thing about marriage that hasn't changed . . . The way you hurt when it begins to fall apart.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 February 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Donde hay cenizas

Filming Locations:

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$9,217,530

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,217,530

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), SLM Production Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film, first released in 1982, is notable for only showing ring-dial telephones, even though the push-button touch phone had come into vogue by the late 1970s.

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Goofs

The selective rain that seems to hit the actors only is evidently not falling on the background, which remains inexplicably dry.

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Quotes

Sherry Dunlap: What's with this honey shit all of a sudden?

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Connections

Referenced in Ellie Parker (2005)

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Soundtracks

Still The Same
Written by Bob Seger (UNCREDITED)
Performed by Bob Seger
Courtesy of Capitol Records

User Reviews

Quaint early 80's period piece

"Shoot the Moon" is a strange film... one of those quaint (I mean that in a good way), early 80's period pieces that flopped at the box office and then disappeared almost entirely from public consciousness, never to reappear. Painful to watch at times... sometimes it feels true to reality, sometimes it doesn't.

The film is more a collection of scenes than a coherent whole, which isn't necessarily a bad thing... but as another reviewer stated, the target audience here is unclear. As an "anti-divorce" statement it makes its point (perhaps too strongly... the tennis court scene was unnecessary, I thought, given that there was no emotional buildup to it). The acting is also a mixed bag -- at times seeming perfectly natural and at other times forced and constrained by the script, as well as by the mixed talents of the child actors.

This film is little more than an interesting, dated period piece, yet it's very enjoyable (though not always pleasant) and never lost my attention for a minute. Makes a good companion film to "Table for Five," another film of a similar bent and genre -- these are good films to see on a quiet, rainy Sunday. 7/10