Box of Moon Light (1996)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Tom DiCillo

Writer:

Tom DiCillo (written by)

Release Date:

25 July 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Discover something incredible...

Plot:

Al Fountain, a middle-aged electrical engineer, is on the verge of a mid-life crisis, when he decides...

Plot Keywords:

Electrical Engineer | Helicopter | Midlife Crisis | Backwoods | Chicago Illinois

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

John Turturro	...	Al Fountain
Sam Rockwell	...	The Kid
Catherine Keener	...	Floatie Dupre
Lisa Blount	...	Purlene Dupre
Annie Corley	...	Deb Fountain
Alexander Goodwin	...	Bobby Fountain
Dermot Mulroney	...	Wick
Mike Stanley	...	Doob
Rica Martens	...	Doris
Ray Aranha	...	Soapy
Robert Wightman	...	Dex
James Richardson	...	Taco
Stephen Dupree	...	Elwood
Eugene Wolf	...	Lyle
Reathel Bean	...	Luvven Coddle

Also Known As:

Box of Moonlight (USA) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some nudity.

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

France:U | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:T | UK:15 | USA:R (Approved No. 34537) | Canada:18A (Ontario) | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

Company:

Lakeshore Entertainment

Trivia:

The swimming hole is actually an abandoned 350 foot deep quarry. DiCillo told all who went in that it was only 25 feet deep max. An expert swimmer at a nearby quarry was bitten by a poisonous snake and drowned several days before filming began.

Quotes:

Al Fountain: I can't believe it. I've been looking all over for this place. I don't know why, really. I spent a couple of days there when I was a kid, and, and I just remember having a really good time.
Old Motel Clerk: Me, too. My brother and I drowned a cat there once.
Al Fountain: Is that right?

Movie Connections:

References The Green Berets (1968)

Soundtrack:

Wayward Nile

More full-frontal Sammy...

Sam Rockwell is an excellent actor. He also does not shy away from quirky roles that require liberal use of nudity. Just as in "Lawn Dogs," Sammy shows it all in "Box of Moonlight." The film is really an actor's showcase for John Tuturro too. He is perfect as the socially inept engineer who is "shown the (moon) light" by Rockwell. One can quibble about the choices the two characters make on their road to emotional "freedom," but the movie is charming none-the-less, and a nice companion film to "Lawn Dogs" in its depiction of life in south central America. This is an "Adult Fable," So suspend your need for action, and discover you have new needs: for character development, for dialog, for symbolism, for magic.