Shoot the Moon (1982)

Please don't spend money on this.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

This is one of the most powerful and truthful movies I've ever seen. I love it and I watch it over and over. I love Dianne Keaton and this is one of her greatest roles. The children are just terrific and the emotions portrayed are intense and typical of the situation. I feel that his is a movie that every married couple must see. In an age where divorce is so common and seemingly so easy, Shoot The Moon shows how devastating divorce really can be and usually is! I know this from experience! There are so many unresolved emotions and feelings between two people. And even if there has been an affair a marriage can prevail and two people can emerge stronger for it. The marriage can become much better and more loving and true. The children will benefit from seeing that their parents can work through their problems and come out on the other side. A MUST SEE!

This movie starts very well (and is still worth watching) with its close examination of a domestic breakup. Unfortunately, it goes pear-shaped and slapstick in the second half. It gets 2 extra points for being surprising and unusual.Pauline Kael called this the most revealing movie of its era. What she meant is that it's like ANNIE HALL, ORDINARY PEOPLE, KRAMER VS KRAMER, and all those other Failed Relationship movies merged into one sloppy heap. The only thing that's missing is the drugs-- if you don't count the joint the wife smokes. It goes all over the road trying to hit everything. There's even a courtroom scene. Even Parker must have wondered at times what the writer, Goldman, was trying to do. It rubs you raw and it also makes you giggle. The four adult leads (all veterans) do as good a job as any actors could do with what they are given. And Keaton does an amazing job in the solo bathtub scene where she has to sing and then break down. But even she and Finney look baffled by the restaurant and hospital scenes; they seem to be saying "How do we play this?" The child actors are, sadly because they are good, given the job of either being a bratty chorus or setting up the adults with things no real kid would say. However at one point one of them (they all look alike) is allowed to cut loose and ad lib a Wicked Witch impression while her TV plays the 1939 OZ. It nearly stops the show (it's the best thing in the movie). The ending is actually pretty logical: Goldman had written himself into a corner and how else could he get out?

This film, showing the breakup of a marriage and the devastation wrought for the four children, has some striking performances, particularly in the scenes with the children. Dana Hill, who played the barely teenage eldest daughter, was phenomenal, and I don't remember seeing better ensemble acting from children ever. Their energy together was remarkable.Diane Keaton also gave a strong performance as Faith, the wife left by a husband who has fallen for another woman. I wasn't so impressed with Albert Finney's portrayal of the husband, George, but perhaps that's because he played such a flawed character, a warm and passionate man who succumbs to violence when frustrated.While there are some intense and moving character portrayals in the film, the motivations for the intensity that was portrayed was hardly shown. Why did the marriage break up? We see the anger and frustration, but have no idea what caused it. What was so appealing about the new woman in George's life and the new man in the Faith's life? And most important, why did Faith and the eldest daughter stay loving such a violent man? At one point, George breaks into the house, locks his wife out of the house and beats his daughter because she won't accept his birthday gift or talk to him. Afterwards, there are no repercussions. It's like the filmmakers feel that this kind of violence is normal and acceptable.There is an almost comic scene in a restaurant, where George and Faith argue violently, and then start to fight with other guests who complain. This incites passion in them, not disgust.This theme, that violence arises from passion, and is therefore almost acceptable, I found disturbing. I was surprised that other reviewers didn't mention it.

I gave it 2/5 ... the film really fell apart in the 2nd half, turning in a movie that could be described as 'COMICAL' (unintentionally). Even though it is supposed to be a serious film about 2 people divorcing, there were quite a few moments where I laughed out loud, (no spoilers) especially that ending on the tennis court, I was laughing so hard right there ! ;-)This is a sign the film was a failure because it was supposed to be 100% dramatic and I was thinking it was funny, so there was definitely something that wasn't right *there* ... The beginning was pretty good, the actors were excellent as well, Albert Finney and Diane Keaton in particular. It was fun to see a pre-RobocopPeter Weller in there too as the hunky guy who Keaton hires to build a tennis court next to her house. Multiple nominations as I can see, Golden Globes, Cannes Film Festival, etc.The 4 young daughters were running around in their underwear quite often, using 'inappropriate' language and the camera was lingering unnecessary long on the pre-teens as well, it was noticeable, it hasn't been mentioned here though.