Luminous Motion (Widescreen) [DVD]

Features

• Type: DVD
• Studio: eOne Films
• Language(s): english
• Director(s): Bette Gordon
• Actor(s): Deborah Kara Unger, Terry Kinney, Eric Lloyd, Jamey Sheridan, Patrick Fitzgerald, Conn Horgan, Martin Alvin, P.J. Brown, Bruce MacVittie, Jed Holdren

Bette Gordon, who made her directorial debut in 1983 with Variety, returned 15 years later with this adaptation of Scott Bradfield's novel The History of Luminous Motion about an alcoholic mother. "Only two things mattered to me ? being with my mom and being in motion," says ten-year-old Phillip (Eric Lloyd), who teaches himself physics and biology as he's driven about by his mother Margaret (Deborah Kara Unger). After a car crash, they settle down with Hackensack hardware store owner Pedro (Terry Kinney). Phillip receives letters and phone calls from his dad (Jamey Sheridan). Eventually, mother and son leave Pedro to live on Staten Island ? where the boy meets some strange teens (James Berland, Paz De La Huerta), Pedro appears as a ghostly figure, and Phillip's father turns up. Shown at the 1998 Locarno Film Festival. ? Bhob Stewart Ten-year-old Phillip (Eric Lloyd) and his mother (Deborah Kara Unger of Crash and The Game) travel constantly from town to town, stealing enough money from obnoxious men to keep them in food and gas. A car crash lands them in Jersey suburbia, where Mom decides to settle down with Pedro, the man who rescued them from the wreck. Phillip doesn't agree, and after he takes a rash step, they're in flight once again--but now Mom is realizing she may not be the most troubled member of the family. When Phillip's father (Jamey Sheridan, The Ice Storm) returns to reclaim his child, the trouble only increases, and Phillip once again decides to take matters into his own hands. Luminous Motion is a mix of compelling psychology and beautiful cinematography, with a storyline that coils tighter and tighter. Dark and elliptical, but rewarding. --Bret Fetzer