I am writing this review as a non-American. I have watched other movies about wives betraying their husbands and have liked them. For example I liked Unfaithful also featuring Diane Lane. This particular movie however, I felt was depicting the process of betrayal in very unnatural way. Main character Pearl decides to have an extra marital affair and even when caught does not show the emotions that I would expect from a character like hers. She decides to leave at night while her mother-in- law is asking her not to go. Mother-in-law finds out that she is having an affair but does very little about it. Daughter finds out that her mother is sleeping with another man and she shows her anger for mere two minutes. Husband finds out that wife is screwing another man and he just throws the milk and drives car fast. At the end all are fine. I personally feel that even in American family in 1969 this is not what happens after an extra marital affair. This movie almost seemed like the director was telling the audience that this is how you should behave after having an affair. Very unconvincing story-line.

When a family spends the summer of '69 in the Catskills, both mother and daughter find new love interests. Diane Lane stars as a wife and mother who turns to the "blouse man" for affection when her husband can't get out of the city and spend any time with his family. Anna Paquin plays her teenage daughter who comes into her own during this time and needs her mother's emotional stability, which isn't there.The first thing I ask myself is the reality behind this film. Could this really happen? Yes. Could I believe something like this could happen in Lane's character? Not with her mother-in-law living in the bungalow, as well. It's a nice film based on a time when things were a little simpler, but I don't think the director gave very much opportunity for any of the stars to "give it their all," especially co-star Viggo Mortensen. Bottom line: good plot, great actors, bad fit.7 out of 10 stars.

"A Walk on the Moon" has a teen in it, but it's definitely a grown-up movie. It helps to remember 1969 though one does wince at some of the inaccuracies as too much cultural symbolism is thrown into that summer. Hey, where's the rain at Woodstock? - it was only nice weather on the Friday. Some of the music was inaccurate - what were the odds of turning on the radio in 1969 and hearing "Sally Go Round the Roses" from 1962? Why would someone from NYC claim they couldn't afford college and not consider what's now CUNY?This is Liev Schreiber's first grown-up movie I think; he was quite good in Shakespeare in the Park last summer. Some reviewers bashed the movie because Schreiber is so good (especially as he discovers the power of Dylan and Jimi Hendrix) that one sympathizes with both the adulterer and the cuckold - gee but ain't life complicated, as what comes across is the importance of family. Too bad the Blouse Man (very appealing Viggo Mortensen) is just basically a hippie and he's not a real person, but everyone else is. Anna Paquin as a teen discovering that her parents are people too was wonderful. Diane Lane's NY accent does waver quite a bit.I lost my objectivity whenever Tovah Feldshuh spoke. As the grandmother she sounded so much like my grandma, who of course was alive in 1969, that I practically cried every time she was on the screen, though mine had a thicker Yiddish accent. All in all, a very touching movie.(Originally written 4/11/1999)

OK, I will admit that my initial interest in this movie stemmed from a "Viggo-is-God" mentality. He was so great in LOTR, I wanted to see him in other movies. I don't think it's fair to label Diane Lane's character as a slut. You have to be from another century to think that a person is bad because of a single moral indiscretion.It was pretty obvious to me that she was lonely and depressed because her husband ditched her in this lame Catskills resort for weeks on end, with nothing but the kids and old ladies for entertainment. Oh, and The Blouse Man (Mortensen's character). I mean, who would you pick to hang out with? The love scenes are gloriously shot, but that's all I'll say because this site has a strict spoiler rule. All fans of Mortensen and Lane (and romance) will enjoy this film.