Moonlight Mile

If you're looking for a few laughs, avoid Moonlight Mile like you would a baseball-wielding chav.

The show opens on the morning of the funeral of Diana Floss, who was shot dead three days before. Her fiancée, Joe (Jake Gyllenhaal) has just arrived in her small hometown to stay with her parents Ben (Dustin Hoffman) and JoJo (Susan Sarandon) while they say farewell.

But the bereaved couple want Joe to stay on a more permanent basis, filling the hole their daughter has left, and dad even recruits him into his commercial real estate firm - a scenario Joe is far from happy with.

But he feels obliged to comfort them and face the trial of the man who shot Diane - a jealous husband who gunned down her and his wife in a coffee house.

Things get more complicated for Joe when he falls for sunny Post Office worker and barmaid Bertie (Ellen Pompeo). Can he escape the life his guilt has led him to and find happiness with a new love? Is it too soon for him to think about making a new life?

Silberling's tale plods along at just under two hours and the plot is disappointing. It promises a lot but is neither an examination of the characters' grief nor a gritty courtroom drama about the shooting. In fact, we never even find out what happens to the gunman. There is also a sickly, predictable happy-ever-after ending that doesn't gel with the experiences the family have had. From devastation to happy in one easy move. I don't think so.

The director's world is a predictably drab one, with dim lighting, dark costumes and sad music - used not to help us mourn a character we have never met, nor learn anything about, but to help us realise how grim Joe's life is. It's effective, although totally depressing.

But there are saving graces. The cast are outstanding, with Hoffman and Sarandon delivering the type of strong performance you would expect from such heavyweights. Gyllenhaal also shines as Joe. His grief, bewilderment and fear at being trapped in a life he does not want are painfully etched across his face. This is one little boy lost you pray finds his way home.

But Holly Hunter is wasted as district attorney Mona Camp. She is underused and the brief role could have been filled by any LA Law wannabe.

There are a few blackly comic moments which lighten the generally depressing mood, usually thanks to Sarandon's cynical JoJo. Gyllenhaal's rant about not being over Diana's death to a couple trying to set him up with their daughter is uncomfortably hilarious and there is even some slapstick involving pets. Ok, being pulled off your feet by a runaway dog is hardly original but hey, any light relief is welcome among so much misery.

Another high point is the soundtrack. The movie is set in the early 70s so artists used include Jethro Tull, Bob Dylan, T-Rex, David Bowie, Elton John and Tim Buckley, while the movie's title is from the Rolling Stones track of the same name. Gary Glitter can also be heard - although why the producers felt the need to pad the pockets of a pervert we'll never know. The "crucial to the story argument won't work" - unless it's vital for the grief process to see Ellen Pompeo dance while sweeping.