Underplayed Gems

Shoot the Moon (1982)

Shoot the Moon poster
Directed by
Alan Parker
Genre
drama film
Country
United States
Runtime
2h 04m
Rated
R
Rating
6.3 of 10 from 50 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A married couple drifts apart and their separation and new relationships tear their four children apart. The story tracks the fallout from the parents' choices on the whole family.

emotionally rawintimateunflinchingmelancholicslow-burnfamily-focusedpainfulrealistic

What happens

Shoot the Moon is a 1982 American drama film directed by Alan Parker, and written by Bo Goldman. It stars Albert Finney, Diane Keaton, Karen Allen, Peter Weller, and Dana Hill. Set in Marin County, California, the film follows George (Finney) and Faith Dunlap (Keaton), whose deteriorating marriage, separation and love affairs devastate their four children. The title of the film alludes to an accounting rule known in English as "shooting the moon" in the scored card game hearts. Goldman began writing the script in 1971, deriving inspiration from his encounters with dysfunctional couples. He spent several years trying to secure a major film studio to produce it before taking it to 20th Century Fox. Parker learned of the script as he was developing Fame (1980), and he later worked with Goldman to rewrite it. After an unsuccessful pre-production development at Fox, Parker moved the project to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which provided a budget of $12 million. Principal photography lasted 62 days, in the period from January to April 1981, on location in Marin County. Shoot the Moon premiered on February 19, 1982, to mostly positive reviews, but was deemed a box-office failure, having grossed only $9.2 million in North America. It later competed for the Palme d'Or at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival, and received two Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actor – Drama (Finney) and Best Actress – Drama (Keaton). (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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