A Walk on the Moon (1999)

The world of a young housewife is turned upside down when she has an affair with a free-spirited blouse salesman.

Director:

Tony Goldwyn

Writer:

Pamela Gray

Stars:

Diane Lane, Viggo Mortensen, Bobby Boriello

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bobby Boriello	...	Daniel Kantrowitz
Diane Lane	...	Pearl Kantrowitz
Anna Paquin	...	Alison Kantrowitz
Tovah Feldshuh	...	Lillian Kantrowitz
Liev Schreiber	...	Marty Kantrowitz
Julie Kavner	...	P.A. Announcer (voice)
Stewart Bick	...	Neil Leiberman
Jess Platt	...	Herb Fogler
Mahée Paiement	...	Mrs. Dymbort (as Mahee Paiement)
Star Jasper	...	Rhoda Leiberman
Ellen David	...	Eleanor Gelfand
Lisa Bronwyn Moore	...	Norma Fogler
Viggo Mortensen	...	Walker Jerome
Victoria Barkoff	...	Selma Levitsky (as Vicky Barkoff)
Tamar Kozlov	...	Wendy Green

Storyline

Summer, 1969: men on the moon, and Woodstock happening near the cabin where the Kantrowitz family stays every summer. The camp's a Jewish fish-bowl. Marty's there weekends; he repairs TVs in Brooklyn. He's square and decent. His wife Pearl and his mother camp with Alison (she's 14) and their younger son. Pearl got pregnant at 17 and feels she missed her youth. While Alison experiences her first date, first kiss, first period, and stealing off to Woodstock with the lifeguard, Pearl has her own sexual awakening with "the blouse man," a peddler who sells at the camp. They too go to Woodstock. Marty confronts Pearl about the affair; she and he have to decide what to do next.

---

Plot Keywords:

cheating wife | scantily clad female | female removes her clothes | adulterous wife | leg spreading | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality, language and some drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

Diane Lane commented in an interview, "If Viggo and I convince people we're enjoying every second of that encounter [in the waterfall] we've really done our job as actors. It was freezing in that river. The water was filled with debris and cigarette butts and the rocks were covered in little worms."

---

Goofs

In the bedroom, when Walker drops the needle on the record, we have already heard the opening bars to "White Bird".

---

Quotes

Pearl Kantrowitz: [Looking at the portable TV in Walker's bus] I've never seen one so small.
Walker Jerome: You like that? My brother picked it up in southeast Asia.
Pearl Kantrowitz: What was he doing over there?
Walker Jerome: Killing people.

---

Crazy Credits

The producers wish to thank ... The Merchants of St-Viateur Street ...

---

Connections

Featured in At the Movies: The Mod Squad/Doug's 1st Movie/A Walk on the Moon/Edtv/Among Giants (1999)

---

Soundtracks

Summertime
(1935)
Written by George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, DuBose Heyward, and Dorothy Heyward
Performed by Big Brother and the Holding Company (as Big Brother & The Holding Company)
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

The way we were

The sixties were a time of great transition. At their beginning was the Peace Corps: a way to help those in need of a better life. At their end it was the me generation: how high can I get or how can I satiate my senses to the fullest. This movie is one of the best "encapsulations" of those events that I've seen.

The moral overtones of the movie are overwhelming. Wrongs occur. Do we run away from them? Do we trash our lives because of them? This movie attempts to address these questions. It does it well.

Finally, what brings it all together? In two words: Diane Lane. She possesses a deep but quiet beauty that makes it work. Her character asks, "I'm approaching middle age. I have children and a good but somewhat boring husband. Is this all there is?"

All ask this question as youth begins to fade. The answer this movie purports makes it exceptional and even classic. A hundred years from our descendants will look at this movie and appreciate its incite in human existence.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 April 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

La tentación

Filming Locations:

Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$78,709, 28 March 1999

Gross USA:

$4,750,660

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,750,660

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax, Punch 21 Productions, Groucho Film Partnership

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1