Starring Stephanie Beatriz of ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine,’ this timely film explores how a woman deals with sexual assault, and how her relationship with her boyfriend is affected.
The Light of the Moon, written and directed by Jessica M. Thompson, follows Bonnie, who is a Latina architect living in Brooklyn with her loving boyfriend, Matt (Michael Stahl-David), when her life is changed. She’s on her way home from a bar, listening to music, when a hand reaches around her mouth, stifling a scream. She is then pushed into a back alley, and slammed into a wall, face-first. The assailant rapes her, steals her ID, then flees. Bonnie is left alone in the dark alley to get dressed and go home, and recover from the horrific act.
Like so many women who have been sexually assaulted, Bonnie wants her life to get back to normal as quickly as possible, but soon finds out this is not an option. Matt goes to great lengths to console her, but this only exposes latent problems in their relationship. He makes her breakfast, stays up late to make sure she comes home, and does all the other things he’d been neglecting in their relationship previously. Bonnie keeps the incident a secret from coworkers, and rejects the idea of a support group initially. But this bottling up does not help her work through the issues she’s having at work and at home.
Aside from issues about sexual assault, The Light of the Moon is about the relationship between Bonnie and Matt, and how two people attempt to endure traumatic moments in a relationship. A subject as sensitive as this is rarely depicted with such realism, if depicted at all. The chemistry and intimacy between Stahl-David and Beatriz feels completely real, like they’ve been living together for months already. Their trials, conflicts, and fights are relatable to anyone who has ever been tied to another person.
A few aspects of the film felt unfinished, like when Bonnie attempts to find the identity of the rapist. Perhaps Thompson is making the point that many women simply don’t find out who did it, and they may never get closure. But as a result of this point, the film didn’t give much closure either.
However, The Light of the Moon will hopefully give closure to those who have been through a similar situation, or know someone who has, which unfortunately is many of us.
The Light of the Moon is in theaters November 1st.
Photo courtesy of Variety.
