| BOX OF MOONLIGHT |
 1996
- USA
Director: Tom DiCillo - Reviewed by Linda 
I've always been pleased that John Turtorro is a successful, famous actor. He's a bit typical looking, not noticeably handsome, and the best part (for those of us orthodontically-challenged), he has a crooked jaw. He is one of those actors that quietly makes other actors around him look good, while he often goes unnoticed. Box of Moonlight is a movie that came and went in the theaters a few years ago, relatively ignored (probably because they didn't know how to market it). I was surprised what a gem this film was, for a movie I really haven't ever really heard anyone talk about! The plot has been done before: it is your basic "opposites attract" buddy-movie. Al Fountain (Turturro) is a stiff, by-the-book, practical overseer for a construction company. The men he manage make fun of him behind his back, and try as he might, he can't (and won't) loosen up (haven't we all worked with someone like this?). He is away from his wife and son at an on-site construction job which ends up losing its funding, so the men get sent home a week ahead of schedule. Al instead decides to rent a car, and go for a drive in the country for a few days to find the idyllic place of his childhood memories, perhaps the only time he was really happy. Instead, he runs into freak-boy (Sam Rockwell), a guy who calls himself The Kid, wears a Davey Crockett costume, and is found stranded on the side of the road with his broken-down car. Al begrudgingly helps Kid get his car back to his trailer in the woods, and because of various circumstances, ends up somewhat trapped in Kid's alternate universe of no responsibility and doing whatever the hell you feel like. Sure, the rebel guy helps repressed guy break out of his self-inflicted prison to find out what living is really all about. That is an easy summary. But Box of Moonlight was much more, I felt. It had an odd, quirky humor to it, as well as the sadness of Turtorro's character. Plus middle-America Tennessee was so lovingly filmed that it became a sweet ode to Americana. The acting was excellent all-around, especially the two leads, Turtorro and Rockwell, who had an amusing chemistry together. Thankfully, there wasn't a black-and-white conclusion (which is often how these types of movies wrap up), but instead there was an acceptance of a common ground that can be found between people at different ends of the spectrum. Box of Moonlight totally charmed me... it is a sweet little gem of a movie. |
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