Shoot the Moon (1982)

89% of critics liked it
(9 reviews)
66% of users liked it
(588 ratings)

Director Alan Parker and writer Bo Goldman chronicle the emotional disintegration of an unhappy marriage. Albert Finney and Diane Keaton play George and Faith Dunlap, a seemingly happily married couple living with their four daughters in a converted farmhouse in Marin County, California. George is… More Director Alan Parker and writer Bo Goldman chronicle the emotional disintegration of an unhappy marriage. Albert Finney and Diane Keaton play George and Faith Dunlap, a seemingly happily married couple living with their four daughters in a converted farmhouse in Marin County, California. George is inwardly empty and decides to have an affair with Sandy (Karen Allen), who has doubts about how long their affair will last. Faith is also suffering from ennui and takes up with Frank Henderson (Peter Weller), the contractor for the Dunlap's tennis court. Frank, after discovering about Faith's affair, is in a confused state: he wants to leave and live with Sandy but doesn't want his wife to date other men and demands the love of his daughters -- all of whom now detest him. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 2 hr. 4 min.
Directed By: Alan Parker
Written By: Alan Parker, Bo Goldman
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Feb 19, 1982 Wide
On DVD: Nov 6, 2007

Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Adds nothing much to the genre of family dramas.
Dan Callahan, Slant Magazine
Not only the finest work by Albert Finney and Diane Keaton and a major, unwieldy film about breaking up, Shoot the Moon is also Tina Yothers's finest hour.
Dan Callahan, Slant Magazine
Parker and Goldman seem to want this battling couple to represent a sort of romantic '60s point of view, and they show up the younger lovers as shallow, '70s-style hedonists.
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
High drama, albeit depressing, with Keaton and Finney in strong leads.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
A racking film which explores divorce with sensitivity and artistic skill.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Not Parker's best, but done with uncanny precision.

Read all 6 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Lucas M

Good film about a unhappy marriage. But, Shoot the Moon is very emotional and have one of the worst end that I ever see, that makes the audience saw more, but unfortunately is impeded to see.
Jennifer X

What an emotional rollercoaster of a film, what with all the platesmashing and slammed doors and running around. I really, really loved this in the first hour, but after the second hour brought more of the same drama, my appreciation for it dropped significantly.
jay n

Great performances, sad subject matter.
Adam M

lots of yelling and emotional explosions divided by tender moments of contact and stressed-out laughs; kid actors are good; best movie I've seen by Alan Parker, whose lurid fascination with painful episodes is held back by the great Bo Goldman's screenplay

Cast

            Albert Finney as George Dunlap

            Diane Keaton as Faith Dunlap

            Karen Allen as Sandy

            Peter Weller as Frank Henderson

            Dana Hill as Sherry

            Viveka Davis as Jill

            Tracey Gold as Marianne

            Tina Yothers as Molly

            George Murdock as French DeVoe

            Leora Dana as Charlotte DeVoe

            Robert Allan Ackerman as Waiter

            Michael Alldredge as Officer Knudson

            Robert Costanzo as Leo Spinelli

            Lou Cutell as Willard

            Nancy Fish as Joanne

            Georgann Johnson as Isabel

            O-Lan Jones as Countergirl

            Ken Kimmins as Maitre D'

            Irving Metzman as Howard Katz

            Edwina Moore as Reporter

            Héctor Morales as Mexican Man

            Bill Reddick as Priest

            Jeremy Schoenberg as Timmy

            Morgan Upton as Photographer

            David Landsberg as Scott Gruber

            James Cranna as Harold

            Eunice Suarez as Mexican Woman

            Kathryn Trask as Nurse

            April Webster
            
            Juliet Taylor
            
            Jan Dunn
            
            Stephen Morrell as Rick
See full cast