The American Cinematheque will screen the 1991 drama The Man in the Moon as a tribute to recently deceased veteran director Robert Mulligan on Friday, March 13, at 7:30 pm at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica.
The film's star, Reese Witherspoon, was supposed to appear in person to introduce the screening, but she'll apparently be unavailable.
Schedule/info from the American Cinematheque:
Friday, March 13 – 7:30 PM
THE MAN IN THE MOON, 1991, MGM Repertory, 99 min. Director Robert Mulligan's final film is also one of his finest, a subtle, beautifully realized coming of age story. Reese Witherspoon plays a fourteen-year old girl who discovers romance when she develops a crush on neighbor Jason London. Unfortunately, he's got eyes for her older sister, and eventually all of the characters must learn to deal with loss and heartbreak. Mulligan's sensitivity to performance and period detail (the movie takes place in 1950's Louisiana) is on full display in this moving, universal tale of first love.
Also in the cast: Tess Harper, Gail Strickland, and Sam Waterston.
Aero Theatre 1328 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90403
www.americancinematheque.com – 323.466.FILM – tickets: www.fandango.com
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I consider The Man in the Moon to be on a par for Robert Mulligan as his best directorial work. It is a masterful piece of cinematic poetry, precise in its story and its message, and never over-reaching a single step along the way.
The camera work and audio/soundtrack in and about the family homestead are both fabulous; the abundant sense of presence in the outdoors is achieved throughout, to the point of hot summer evening sleeps on the screened porch, and realistic nightsounds of the Louisiana countryside backgrounding the parlance.
Mulligan clearly had a strong sense and knowledge of adolescence. He exhibited incredibly well in so many of his films. His achievement in that regard with his final film, The Man in the Moon, makes it a masterpiece.
Yeah, was a great film – don't know about to kill a mockinbird, though :-)
TO KILL A MOCKINBIRD is the best movie of the 1960s.