This small gem of a movie was released Stateside with little fanfare in
1999, garnering most attention for the simple fact that its director was
the actor Tony Goldwyn infamous for portraying the bad guy in the box
office smash Ghost
(1990), plus providing the voice of the title character in
the Walt Disney film Tarzan. The fact that double Oscar-winning
superstar Dustin Hoffman had produced the film, and whose Punch
Productions company had helped financing the film, also got
A Walk on
the Moon some publicity.
The story centers on the Jewish Kantrowitz family, who spend every summer at a lakeside resort in the Catskills. Head of the family is Marty (Liev Schreiber), an all-round nice guy, who often has to leave his loved ones to work back in the city, repairing television sets.
This year, it's 1969 - the year of Woodstock and man walking on the moon, and also the year that Pearl Kantrowitz (Diane Lane), Marty's wife, starts to feel that the sexual and exciting spark in her marriage has started to evaporate. Meanwhile, her I 4-year-old daughter Alison (Anna Paquin) is blossoming on the verge of womanhood, getting her first period and wanting to do more with boys that just French kiss!
Keeping a watchful eye over them all is Marty's mother, Lilian (Tovah Feldshuh), who is convinced she has some psychic powers and can predict that things are going awry while Marty is away from them all.
Enter Viggo Mortensen as Walker Jerome, a handsome and charming blouse salesman, who often stops by selling garments at the Catskills. From the first time they meet, the viewer knows that there is some strong sexual attraction between Pearl and Walker, and that there will only be a matter of time before they yield to one another.
Pearl at first reprimands Walker when he gives candy to Alison and her young son Daniel (Bobby Boriello), but later accepts a lift in his van when it begins to rain. On the night of the moon walk, when everyone is glued to their TV sets, Pearl and Jerome make passionate love instead.
Feeling alive and beautiful again for the first time in years, Pearl and Walker begin to see one another again and again.., until Lilian figures out what is going on and convinces Marty to return.
What makes such a simple story so enthralling to watch is when such a fine cast all make their characters so believably real and sympathetic, in particular Diane Lane in the lead role of Pearl. It could be very easy to dislike Pearl, for cheating on her husband with another man, but her actions are not done out of malice - we find out that Pearl and Marty married very young, as Pearl had become pregnant with Alison, and the two of them had never really had a chance to live out their dreams, and in Walker Jerome she sees an opportunity to feel "free once again.
Liev Schreiber received the best reviews of his career for his portrayal of hapless husband Marty Kantrowitz, who has to make the horrible discovery that his wife has been seeing another man. New Zealand actress Anna Paquin, who won an Oscar for her debut role in The Piano (1993), gives a fantastic performance as young Alison, whose hormones are all over the place, while Tovah Feldshuh nearly steals the entire film as Marty's psychic mother, who is desperately trying to keep the family together.
Many critics and filmgoers claimed that Viggo Mortensen' s character was too one-dimensional and not rounded out properly. In my opinion, Viggo portrays Walker Jerome EXACTLY how the script intended - subtle and mysterious, but still played to the hilt.
The chemistry between Lane and Mortensen is fully charged, and they share some of the film's greatest scenes - the one where Walker is tenderly kissing Pearl's neck and she is so nervous that she cannot stop talking about the moonwalk, before realizing she still doesn't know his name!
Another memorable moment between Lane and Mortensen is during their naked lovemaking scene beneath a waterfall, which is both beautifully and tastefully shot as is the scene with the two of them feeling at one with the world amongst the millions at Woodstock, unaware that Alison has caught sight of them together.
Unsurprisingly, A Walk on the Moon did not make a huge impact at the box office. What WAS surprising was that not one member of the cast were singled out by the Academy for an Oscar nomination - Mortensen would have probably lost a Best Supporting Actor nod to costar Schreiber, but both Lane and Paquin should have been up for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, but perhaps the film was not seen by enough Academy voters.
One of the most underrated and charming motion pictures to be released in the 1990s.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION: A Walk on the Moon was originally going to be called The Blouse Man - had it remained that title, it would have been the first time Viggo was playing a title role
If it's bugging you where you've heard the female voice announcer ("The blouse man is ONNN the premises! ), you may be pleased to learn it's the uncredited voice of Julie Kavner aka Marge Simpson!