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'Serious Moonlight': Duct tape changes everything
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Courtesy of IMP Awards
In Serious Moonlight, on the eve of a trip to Paris with his mistress (Kristen Bell), Ian (Tim Hutton) is surprised when his wife, Louise (Meg Ryan) makes an unannounced return to their country home. Ian confesses his adultery, that he no longer loves her and his intention to leave her. Louise subsequently knocks him unconscious, duct tapes him to a chair and tells him he will not go free until his love for her returns.
Serious Moonlight feels most like a an old-fashioned Hollywood farce right down to its musical score, which has that distinct, dark comedy sound that anything might go wrong at any moment, except Moonlight, at its core, is also quite a “serious” character study about the probable death of a thirteen-year marriage. Though the film largely takes place over the course of a day and a half, the screenplay goes to great lengths to explain our failed couple’s past, what may have gone wrong, and who might have been at fault. Regardless of the synopsis’ presumed black and white nature, there is no clear victim here nor is there a clear instigator of the couple’s marital woes. Despite the script’s uncomplicated premise, its characters themselves are anything but, an ingenious concoction of the late screenwriter, Adrienne Shelly.
Shelly had a propensity for inventing dialogue that while comedic and smart, could often be painfully honest. Many writers try to provide the spirit of human emotion; Shelley aimed to provide the heart of it. In Serious Moonlight, her characters have several layers, most of which are readily apparent, but at the same time carry an air of secrecy to them. We’re never quite sure of Ian’s and Louise’s past indiscretions, their present actions, nor are we certain of their ultimate motives.
Every character is flawed, sometimes more visibly and at other times in more concealed ways. Even the nastiest, most unpleasant of characters still possesses his/her share of redeemable qualities and accessibility and prompts us to feel at least a shred of compassion when they do not get what they were after by the film’s conclusion. So often, especially in comedies of any sort, the antagonist is demonized to the point of being inhuman, but when a screenwriter is able to expose the antagonist’s ugliness and still make them seem like a decent human being, that is a sure indication of careful authorship.
Hutton and Ryan give vibrant performances as the couple in need of a little marriage restructuring. Veterans of the business, Hutton and Ryan bring brutal authenticity to their roles and make their characters sympathetic despite their occasional malicious comments to one another, again, no doubt a testament to the colorfulness of Shelly’s writing.
The film also marks the directorial debut of Cheryl Hines, who appeared in the last film Shelly directed, 2007’s Waitress. Hines shows assurance as a director and wisely chooses to let the actors bring dimension to the story rather than flooding the film with a preponderance of technique. The smart simplicity of the story is matched by the smart simplicity of Hines direction.
Serious Moonlight ultimately amounts to a very clever, robust dramedy that is delightfully reminiscent of a bygone era in cinema when characters and plot mattered most. Hines does Shelly’s work justice and guarantees that the late writer’s legacy will continue on in the form of this well prepared assembly of talent.
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