best movie i've ever seen.

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

There are no easy answers in this emotionally devastating film about the breakup of a marriage and its effect not just on a husband and wife but also on their four children.Diane Keaton is perfect. Her Faith Dunlap is human, giving and needy at the same time, loving and practical, fierce and frail, and ultimately indomitable -- all without losing her humanness. She inspires in Albert Finney a performance of the volcanic force that he hadn't given in years. Director Alan Parker and screenwriter Bo Goldman don't shy from laying bare the pain, the frustration, the second-guessing and even some of the joys that result. I have seen this film dozens of times since it came out, and it never fails to affect me.

The title "Shoot the moon" refers to a move that can be made in a card game where the highest possible outcome can be obtained by the risky strategy of achieving the lowest possible score. This description symbolises the events that happen as the story unfolds.Director Alan Parker (Midnight express, Angel Heart) made one of the most haunting movies about human reaction to a domestic crisis ever done with "Shoot the Moon." Featuring a beautifully written script by Bo Goldman (one flew over the cuckoo's nest) and well measured performances by a solid cast.The film begins with George Dunlap (Albert Finney) and his wife Faith (Diane Keaton) attending an awards dinner. It is clear from the outset that the marriage is in trouble. George is sarcastic and snaps comments at his wife, whilst Faith is distant and preoccupied. The early scenes, brilliantly underplayed by the two leads, show a couple who keep up appearances for their children and colleagues but who privately have lost their way.When it is revealed that George is having an affair with another woman, the ensuing sequence of events depict a complete breakdown in the family unit with each member of the house reacting differently to the drama.The scene where Diane Keaton is soaking in the bath and manages to convey a dozen different emotions with her facial expressions whilst singing "If I fell" is incredibly moving. Perhaps even more powerful a scene though, is where George turns up to the family home unannounced to give his eldest daughter her birthday present, only to be shut out of the existence he used to be a part of and treated as an unwanted outsider. It is a sequence shown with characters displaying desperate and raw emotions completely without sentiment as the gravity of what George has done becomes evident.Finney and Keaton are on top of their game here as is a young Dana Hill (who tragically died prematurely from diabetes) whose scenes with Finney are heartbreaking. Peter Weller also gives good support with a subtle performance as the new man in Faith's life.A scene where the two leads have a fight over dinner in a hotel feels a bit out of place with the somber tone of the rest of the movie and was probably added to give some comic relief to the audience after so much depression. The film makers also seemed to go "Hollywood" with the ending which seems out of sorts with the rest of the story.When Oscar time came around in 1982, "Shoot the Moon" was ignored. The film's depressing story was certainly out of character with the main stream features of the day, but more significantly a factor perhaps was that Robert Redfords "Ordinary People" had already covered the family falling to pieces story in 1980 and the academy had honoured the film heavily. There was likely a reluctance by the academy voters to recognise a similar film in the same way so soon."Shoot the Moon" is a harrowing tale of how decisions have tragic consequences for others and how sometimes you only realise what kept you going in life, after you've thrown it away.

Once upon a time, art and literature were judged based upon an ability to make the viewers better people - uplifting literature was considered desirable. Although it has been nearly 25 years since I saw this movie, it sticks with me. It has one of the most realistic portrayals of children of any movie, and presents a picture of the end of a marriage with truth. As trite as it seems, the characters seemed to have gone through the fire and been refined, to have learned a better way of relating. And then there's the last 2 minutes or so. The maturity, the realism are destroyed as a main character inexplicably disintegrates and takes the movie along.Why isn't this movie on DVD? Why don't families watch it together? Why isn't it on anyone's top movies list? Easy. The cheap shot ending.

Why this movie is not on DVD is a mystery. It blows away Kramer Vs. Kramer, which came out a few years before, and is on par with Ordinary People. Anyone who's witnessed a family tearing itself apart because of infidelity, among other issues, will find this movie occasionally unbearable to watch. The ending is a bit too much--for the few who've seen it, the tennis court scene. And a few other scenes are just too over the top. But the acting is so natural (I believe it's the best acting Albert Finney and Diane Keaton have ever done) and their emotions so raw and powerful, that I cry every time I see it. Note to whichever company owns the early '80s MGM catalog--GET THIS ON DVD!