A long, tedious 'Mile' Read Billy's movie reviews on his special archive page. By BILLY NORRIS © St. Petersburg Times published October 7, 2002 Movie: Moonlight Mile Rating: PG-13 Summary: Joe's fiance, Diana, is shot and killed three days before their wedding. He is living with her family for an extended period as they cope with her death. Although Joe (Jake Gyllenhaal) is trying to move on to other things in his life, Diana's parents, JoJo (Susan Sarandon) and Ben (Dustin Hoffman), have other plans for him -- especially Ben. All the while, they are involved in a complicated legal battle to give her killer the punishment he deserves. Meanwhile, Joe begins to fall in love with another local girl (who has her own set of issues to deal with). [Photo: Buena Vista Pictures] After his fiance dies, Joe, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, is confused as he begins to falls for a new woman, Bertie (Ellen Pompeo). My View: This movie revolves around the very different ways each character handles grief. Several quirks in this film really bugged me. It was extremely slow-paced and tiresome, and the 112 minutes seemed like three hours. The plot was hazy at first, a large mass of jumbled thoughts. The dialogue was convoluted and saturated with expletives. Some of that was balanced out, though, by well-placed humor. The characters just didn't capture me, either. The memories of Gyllenhaal playing that ungainly idiot in Bubble Boy were hard to shake off, and it was difficult to watch him in a much more staid role. Although Hoffman is one of the best actors out there, and this movie showcased his skill, his character was such a weak man, unable to look his situation in the face, that I couldn't bring myself to respect him. The exception was JoJo; she was cynical and witty. Recommendations: This deep, thoughtful film wasn't fun to watch. It will take a very patient, analytical person to enjoy this one. It definitely won't be of interest to the under-13 set. Grade: C -- Billy Norris, 14, is in the ninth grade at Seminole High School and is a former member of the Times X-Team. Past 14 Days March 16, 2008 March 15, 2008 March 14, 2008 March 13, 2008 March 12, 2008 March 11, 2008 March 10, 2008 March 9, 2008 March 8, 2008 March 7, 2008 March 6, 2008 March 5, 2008 March 4, 2008 March 3, 2008 Search further back Here's the rest of today's Xpress Growing up by the book You gotta eat? You gotta cook I hate picture day A long, tedious 'Mile'