LITTLE GIRL GROWING UP: MAN ON THE MOON, MY GIRL


Unfortunately for Dani, things don't turn out the way she hopes, as crushes so rarely do. Though of course Emily advises her on how to kiss a boy, and Dani does get her first kiss with Court (when he asks her how it was, she says, "Perfect," and we believe it), Court doesn't return her love. He likes her a lot, but being forced to grow up with his father's death and the responsibility on his shoulders, he can see Dani is still a kid. To make matters worse for Dani, when she invites Court over for dinner one night, he finally meets Maureen (at that initial dinner, Maureen was out at a dance in town with Billy (Bentley Mitchum), a local rich kid), and the two of them become attracted to one another. Finally, something tragic and unexpected happens.

Mulligan's most well-known film is probably still TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962), and while there have been endless debates about the racial angle of the story, there's been no denying the way the film perfectly captured the viewpoint of a young girl. He does the trick again here. Dani may still be a kid, but she's totally unformed in mind; at one point, she asks Court to talk about what he hopes for. That's not something you'd hear going the other way in a boy's coming-of-age movie. And while Mulligan and Wingfield concentrate on Dani, they don't shortchange the more mature characters. Maureen may be the dutiful daughter, but she's intelligent and passionate, and she can be as emotionally open as Dani. Matthew is strict, and we see examples of that - after Dani sneaks out one night, and while calling for her during a storm, Abigail falls down and has to go to the hospital, so out of anger and fright, Matthew takes a belt to Dani - but knows when he goes too far (we can see how ashamed he was of his actions after Dani apologizes to him). And while Abigail may be idealized a little too much, even she can see things, like, for instance, how Maureen is affected by something as much as Dani is.

And as in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, this is a nice portrayal of the South as well. The dialogue is natural and unforced, and the rhythms of the picture are informed by the setting. And while this is set in the farmland, Mulligan doesn't

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