The Man in the Moon Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

The Man in the Moon Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown January 7, 2025

1991's The Man in the Moon might be lost to time if not for the fact that it marks Reese Witherspoon's screen debut. Her talent and control of the camera is immediately apparent, despite some greenness when swinging wildly from one emotion to the next as a young teen in love. You can not only see the once-and-future A-lister she'll inevitably become pulsing at the edges, ready to burst out of her tiny shell, you can see the rawness, the realness in her eyes, along with a budding knack for performative decisiveness. You can see the star itching to escape the little girl, which makes for a more poignant and moving first film.

College-bound Maureen Trant (Emily Warfield) and her headstrong 14-year old sister Dani (Reese Witherspoon) share a strong connection, until that is local boy high school boy named Court Foster (Jason London) threatens to come between them. Dani and Court meet first and have a flirtatious attraction. But when Court meets Maureen, he falls hard and they begin to see one another. The new couple try to keep their love hidden from Dani, but she soon learns the truth, disavowing her sister. Tragically, it seems only a heartbreaking accident can ever reunite the girls. Directed by Robert Mulligan (To Kill a Mockingbird) and written by Jerry Wingfield (Roper and Goodie), the film also stars Sam Waterston and Tess Harper as the girls' parents, Gail Strickland as Court's mother, Bentley Mitchum, Ernie Lively, Dennis Letts, Earleen Bergeon and Anna Chappell.

According to Mulligan, Witherspoon's casting was "risky business, to say the least." But not for the reason you think, as The Man in the Moon keeps things decidedly (and thankfully) PG-13. He explains, "we had a casting team that went out and saw several thousand kids and tested them on video. When I saw Reese's test, she just jumped off the screen, simply as a personality. I couldn't tell whether she could act or not, but she's got a wonderful face and there's a brightness and intelligence there. Then, when I tested her in Santa Monica, a strange breakthrough took place... the performance happened. She was tough. Strong. Direct. And the scene worked. Like that. In an instant, it was there. What was marvelous was, at the end of the scene, Reese knew that something happened. Her compass, her sense of what's real, kicked in. The motor was running and she knew it."

Sure enough, the film hinges on Witherspoon's portrayal of young Dani. Had a young actress been wooden or "off" at all, the whole film would come crashing down, veering into Lolita creepiness without the more realistic yearning of teenage hearts. Warfield is the lesser actress, though, and it shows a bit too clearly. The film would be far more powerful if the audience were rooting for both girls, but as is, Witherspoon earns the cheers while Warfield inspires hisses.

The rest of the cast fills out nicely, even as this is a film that all but paints its third act on a wall, it's so clear where things are headed and what will ultimately bring everyone back to the same table for supper. Waterson is particularly effective as a dad everyone of the era would've wanted, though a scene of him punishing Dani feels oddly dated and uncomfortable. Harper and Strickland are excellent too, even when the screenplay gives them far less to do than it might seem. Emotionally, their performances resonate as much as their younger co-stars, lending the film a tough female-driven core.

London is... okay. Serviceable, to be more specific. He fails to provide much reason as to why both girls fall for him so hard, other than his face, and his line readings get a touch rough around the edges, especially during romantic scenes. He's little more than a MacGuffin, hurling the story into action then dragging his dual girlfriends back to reality and into each other's good graces again. The former is avoidable, the latter not so much, and the resolution somewhat satisfying, despite an emptiness in explaining why we forgive and come together in most familial conflicts.

The Man in the Moon Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

With a sweltering summertime palette, The Man in the Moon looks every bit the genre part. The Blu-ray edition's 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer doesn't disappoint very often either, even as skintones tend to take on an orange, at-times brownish hue that isn't always the most attractive appearance. Colors are lured into a sunny lull, with faint blues and purples popping against the far more vibrant greens of the nearby trees and forests. Black levels are satisfying, though contrast could use a slight tweak upward, and the natural, filmic aesthetic is only made stronger by the film's grain field, which never grows intrusive or unwieldy. Detail is quite good too, with refined textures (especially in faces during closeups), clean edge definition and solid delineation. I also didn't catch much in the way of compression artifacts, banding and the like. I did notice some slight (very slight) macroblocking in a handful of screen-captures, but couldn't spot them when the film was in motion.

The Man in the Moon Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Man in the Moon features a decent DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix. There's not much to comment on -- dialogue is perfectly intelligible, prioritization is solid, and the film's score fares well -- but anything that might elevate it to the next level really isn't at play here. Still, it struck me as reliable and true to its source. You couldn't ask for much more.

The Man in the Moon Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The only extra included on the Blu-ray edition of The Man in the Moon is a theatrical trailer. The 2015 Twilight Time release offered more content, making this one yet another Sandpiper BD that disappoints in the supplemental department.

The Man in the Moon Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Witherspoon's magnetism is apparent even at a young age, and her performance holds and grounds what might otherwise be a forgettable movie of the week. Sandpiper's Blu-ray release is pretty good, with a strong video presentation and decent audio, but it's lack of supplements is glaring.