September 'Nick's Pix': "Shoot the Moon"

Coming up next for my monthly Nick's Pix series is the 1982 American drama "Shoot the Moon," directed by Alan Parker and starring Diane Keaton and Albert Finney. This one-night-only screening scheduled for Wed, Sept 11th at the Lake Theater in Oak Park is one of the most devastating movies about marriage and divorce ever made; it's also one of my favorite films of all time.

The opening title of one of my favorite movies of all time.

I was 16 years old when I first saw Alan Parker's "Shoot the Moon" and it changed my life.

I was already a weird cinephile kid who already preferred stuff like "Prince of the City" over "Superman 2;" "Blow Out" over "For Your Eyes Only," and "Reds" over "Cannonball Run."

At that time, popular trends in movies (especially those aimed at teenagers) involved either lots of T&A and peekaboo teen sex, faceless slashers chopping up horny teens, or Cheech and Chong selling and smoking pot.

Now, don't get me wrong, I saw all those films (ALL of them), and I liked many of them (especially Cheech and Chong), but at the end of the day, I steered toward more challenging and less commercial work.

I was diving into cinema at that time, reading voraciously about movies and watching anything made by auteurs of cinema. I was discovering - and LOVING - the work of filmmakers like Bresson, Kurosawa, Tarkovsky, Antonioni, Herzog, Bunuel, Fellini, Bergman, Kubrick, Welles, Godard, and more. My world was dominated by art films, foreign pictures, and stuff that many considered weird for a 16-year-old.

I preferred cool camerawork and quiet introspection to droids with lightsabers and archeologists with bullwhips. I was a pretentious little dork, yeah, but I knew what I liked, and I still do.

"Shoot the Moon" opened when everyone my age was talking about (and rewatching) movies like "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "On Golden Pond," and "Arthur," so when I told (INSISTED) all of my friends go see this dark, sad, devastating film about divorce, they got concerned. Is Nick OK? Why is he obsessed with this downbeat movie where a family falls apart? Should we get him some medication? All valid questions.

I just responded to this movie in a powerful way, intellectually and emotionally. After my first viewing, alone, on a cold Saturday afternoon in early 1982 at the beautiful Esquire Theater in downtown Chicago, I couldn't move from my seat. I was overwhelmed and spent. I was choked up and teary-eyed. I went back the very next day to see it again.

I had never been that blown away by a movie. It came at a time when my mind, brain, and soul were starving for great cinema, and "Shoot the Moon" more than satisfied that hunger.

Albert Finney at the top of his game in the extraordinary "Shoot the Moon."

There wasn't a better actress on the planet back in 1982 than Diane Keaton.

The timing of "Shoot the Moon"'s release couldn't have been more perfect.

I had become a huge fan of director Alan Parker (who directed "Midnight Express," "Bugsy Malone," and, the previous year, "Fame"), screenwriter Bo Goldman (who won an Oscar for adapting "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," and wrote "Melvin and Howard"), and actors Albert Finney ("Scrooge," "Murder on the Orient Express," "Wolfen," and "Looker") and Karen Allen (who was also in "Raiders"). And I was IN LOVE with Diane Keaton, who was then in theaters in Warren Beatty's masterpiece "Reds" and who was also the best actress working at that time.

"Shoot the Moon" is the story of the disintegration of a marriage between an affluent couple, George (Finney) and Faith (Keaton) Dunlap, and how it affects their four daughters, especially their eldest (the late, great Dana Hill).

The movie covers the period after George's infidelity is exposed, through the couple's separation, preparation for divorce, and their respective affairs with younger lovers (Allen and Peter Weller), all the while deeply exploring the powerful connections and emotions that are damaged when a family falls apart.

Peter Weller plays a contractor who begins a relationship with a recently separated woman in "Shoot the Moon."

Karen Allen is outstanding as the lover of Albert Finney in "Shoot the Moon."

This is big, bold material written and performed with massively high stakes that Parker directs with a sledgehammer intensity. It is an overwhelming experience presented with unapologetic force and a raw honesty that most filmmakers wouldn't dare attempt for fear of losing their audience.

This is some of the bravest work that any of these artists have ever done, and it remains a film of monumental power and painful truth.

There isn't a single scene in the film that doesn't ring true, and many stand up today as some of the best ever filmed.

Diane Keaton, smoking a joint in a bathtub while singing "If I Fell" by The Beatles as she falls apart remembering what she has lost.

Albert Finney smashing his way into the house to give his angry daughter a birthday gift, which turns into a confrontation of heartbreaking power.

Dana Hill confessing to her mother (Keaton) that she hates her father (Finney) and will never feel hope ever again.

The quiet looks and exchanges say volumes about hidden emotion and forbidden outbursts that lurk just below the surface. Proper behavior may disappear, and primal anger may explode at any time. And when it does (and boy, does it) the results are shocking, painful and unlike any divorce drama you've ever seen.

Comparing inferior films like "Kramer Vs. Kramer" (which, by the way, is a terrible, wildly misogynistic, kind of evil film), "An Unmarried Woman," "Blume in Love," "The Divorce," or even "Scenes from a Marriage" to "Shoot the Moon" is pretty pointless, because NONE of those films even come close to the quality, intelligence of sheer bravery of Parker's masterpiece.

The moments of trouble, conflict, fights, death (Faith's ailing father passes away while her marriage is crumbling—a powerhouse scene, by the way), misunderstandings, pain, lessons learned, and compromises reached build to a final scene of such explosive power and emotion that it must be seen to be believed. The film ends with a final freeze-frame image so simple yet so complex that you're left stunned.

So, I should probably reveal something about me: I really feel things strongly. I mean STRONGLY. Those of you who know me (or have listened to me on the radio or on my podcasts) know that when I feel something, I feel it in a BIG way. If I love something, I love it. If I hate something, I hate it. I am an intense feeler—seriously, and I've been like that my whole life.

"Shoot the Moon" speaks to me on that level because this film feels, and FEELS STRONGLY. It might be a tough go for some, but even if you don't share the intensity of emotion on display, you can't deny the movie's quality and brilliance.

This is filmmaking of the highest order, one of the Best American Films of All Time, and certainly the best movie ever made about divorce.

I can NOT wait to share "Shoot the Moon" with you at Classic Cinema's Lake Theater in Oak Park, on Wednesday, September 11th at 7pm. GET YOUR TICKETS (only $9!) HERE!

I will do a brief introduction, we will watch the film together (digitally remastered on the big screen, a rare occurrence), and I will lead a discussion afterwards.

There will also be some trivia and prizes given away.

Please come, but if you can't make it in person, the film is available for streaming as well as DVD, Blu-ray and HD.

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