PhillipMichaelH Director Brad Silberling isn't the greatest director to ever come out of American film but given that he was trained by working in television and then was even chosen by producer Steven Spielberg to direct his first film says that he is a worthy talent. After 10 years of working in television, Brad Silberling began a friendship with Steven Spielberg, who felt he was the right choice to direct a film which he was producing. The result was the 1995 blockbuster, Casper. While not the greatest film ever made, Silberling proved that he could handle a big budget special effects production and he didn't even have one film to his credit before then but also he showed how he could work well with actors and bring out solid performances. While I'm not defending Casper as a masterpiece, I think it has some inspired moments of comedy and drama in it that dealt with loss of a loved one and how to carry on from such a tragedy. The only thing I could have done without was the last minute of the film where the cast dance along to a Little Richard cover of the popular Casper theme song. Other then that, the movie works well.Silberling then decided to make a more grown up film but still dealt with the same themes of his first feature, the result was City Of Angels (1998) which was an American remake of the popular art house film Wings Of Desire from 1987. Again, not what most would consider a masterpiece but it still showed Silberling's talent with working with actors and it was also a well made film if you ask me. The heavily emotional scenes with Nicholas Cage and Meg Ryan caught the attention of acting legend Dustin Hoffman and then Silberling was able to make his dream project for his third film.Moonlight Mile (2002) is loosely based on a real experience. Silberling was dating actress Rebecca Schaeffer in 1989, who was killed by an obsessed fan. This unfortunate event inspired the idea for his most personal and best film to date. I won't give away too much in this review but I felt that this was a unique film about following your own heart and not focus on what is expected of you. Many films have done this in the past but Moonlight Mile has a different take on it because it is also about grief, keeping secrets and not opening up to people which I think makes it even more thought provoking and inspiring which I feel are the two most important elements to a film.So check this one out when you have the chance. Again, not the greatest movie I have seen in my life but it's still an interesting twist on subjects that have been repeated many times. Unfortunately, Silberling has made some weak choices as a director. I will not be defending his latest film Land Of The Lost with Will Ferrell but other then that, the rest of his work is rather impressive and while he hasn't reached the same heights as Steven Spielberg or many other directors who work in the genre he works in, he almost got there with this film. Let's hope if he does make another film, it will take us completely by surprise. We can only hope.

judy I have recently become a fan of Jake Gyllenhaal and rented this movie on Netflix after seeing the trailer. I've watched it twice now and will probably buy it off Amazon to keep. This is a sweet, funny, well acted film about people dealing with grief. Jake is great, so is Dustin Hoffman and of course Susan Sarandon. Jake's character though wholes the film together; he is the anchor. The parents can't deal with their grief and heap all of it onto Jake's character. He has two of the most brilliant scenes in the movie and does both extremely well. No this movie isn't for everyone but if you want to see a story about people this is it. I'll probably watch it over and over again.

JSL26 I just watched the film uncut on Japanese TV. I found most of the film unfulfilling. The story was thin. Dustin Hoffman and Susan Sarandon were straining to make something out of their roles. Jake G.'s blankness was irritating and Holly Hunter was a cipher.Nevertheless, it was worthwhile because Ellen Pompeo was absolutely perfect. As the commenter from Turkey said so eloquently: "Every man in this world easily in love with this character which Ellen Pompeo gave life." I might have to start watching Grey's Anatomy after this! One other good thing about the film was the soundtrack. The not-so-well-known Van Morrison songs ("I'll Be Your Lover Too" and "Sweet Thing") really gave the love story a boost.

moonspinner55 One of those well-intentioned, star-studded duds which fade fast despite getting a full endorsement from "Entertainment Tonight". Quirky married couple grieves in different ways over the murder of their daughter, while their once-future son-in-law, living with the mercurial twosome since the tragedy, feels the agreeable pull of family yet harbors a guilty secret. Only in a few sequences does the director get a rhythm going (all of them scored, rather curiously, to rock tunes from the '70s such as T.Rex's "20th Century Boy"!). Apparently the impetus of this script was based on fact, but these characters (cutesy in their conversations, sneaking cigarettes and digging up flossy bits of colorful memory) resemble nobody, living or dead. This is the kind of movie where there are two main characters named Joe, the son-in-law and the wife (Jo, for Josephine). There's also a ready-made follow-up girlfriend for Jake Gyllenhaal (who lets his round eyes do most of his acting; smiling and muttering while feigning sensitivity or callow humor). Dustin Hoffman comes off the best with a loose performance, but poor Susan Sarandon, acting like a benumbed former-hippie, has the very worst scenes (she even gets to drop in a line about being a Democrat; are all Democrats 50-ish flower children?). Lazy, dim and uncharismatic, "Moonlight Mile" doesn't go the distance. *1/2 from ****