‘Luna’ Review
Stars: Ben Daniels, Dervla Kirwan, Stephanie Leonidas, Michael Maloney, Maurice Roëves, Katia Winter | Written and Directed by Dave McKean
After losing their baby, Grant (Ben Daniels) and Christine (Dervla Kirwan) visit a old friend from art school and his wife in their isolated and idyllic seaside house. Over a long weekend, secrets are revealed among the four characters, Grant and Christine come to terms with their loss and the life of the dead child, Jacob, is lived out in a series of fantastical dreams.
Luna is a film which is hard to describe. Every section of the film is artistically presented through animation, beautiful shots or just little details which bring out the magic in an ever so subtle way, such as glitter in the moonlight. Dealing which such a heavy topic as the loss of a child, Luna is littered with some extremely emotional moments, so don’t expect a light hearted or comedic story.
However, these moments are then contrasted or even enhanced by the strange and magical dream sequences, which give hints to secrets later in the film and the life of the child that Grant and Christine lost. Luna dances the line between fantasy and reality so the emotional punches hit hard but the magic isn’t lost along the way.
Honestly, this is emotional, magical and beautiful; words I don’t use often to describe films. I am a guy who usually prefers his films a bit more explosive, hilarious and maybe filled with a zombie-ninja-robot or two, but Luna had me hooked from the start and I was definitely reaching for the tissues to hide my big man-tears before the end. This film is definitely artistic. It is probably laden with deeper meanings which I didn’t get the first time around, but I got enough of the symbolism and metaphor for the story to have a real impact on me. I
hope this means that if I get to watch it again, something new will be revealed which I didn’t see originally. If you like your films a bit more clear cut, then this might be one to avoid, but I think you should give it a chance just for the experience. Whatever Luna did, it impressed me.
Luna could have appealed to the artist in me, my sense of wonder and magic or the story just moved me. I suspect it was actually all three. Either way I cannot recommend a film more highly than this one.