Plot
Jeremy Irons portrays Nowak, one of four Polish laborers, living in England. In exchange for a place to stay, Irons and his buddies -- none of whom have British work permits -- agree to renovate their landlord's flat within a limited time-frame. Despite their hectic schedule, the boys agree never to work on Sunday: this is the day that they communicate with their loved ones in Poland. On one such Sunday, however, the Soviets declare martial law in Poland, cutting off all telephone and telegraph service to the outside world. Nowak, the only one of the four who speaks English, learns of the turmoil in Poland before his friends do; he decides to keep the news secret, rather than jeopardize their living arrangements. When the flow of money from home ceases, Nowak takes to stealing to finance the renovation project. He pushes his friends mercilessly to make sure the project is completed on time, secretly burning their letters so that they remain in the dark about the Soviet incursion upon their native soil. When they do find out, they physically vent their anger upon Nowak, perceiving him to be as much an enemy and oppressor as the Soviets. This is clearly the allegorical point that director Jerzy Skolimowski is hoping to make in Moonlighting; wisely, he avoids conveying his message in fluent tract, relating his story with generous doses of humor and irony. ~ Hal Erickson, RoviReview
When martial law was declared in Poland in 1981 in the wake of the Solidarity uprisings, Polish expatriate filmmaker Jerzy Skolimowski wanted to make a film about the crisis. But since it was politically and financially impossible for him to shoot a film in Poland, he structured Moonlighting around a metaphoric story, in which four Polish workers are stranded in London as their nation seals itself off from the world. Skolimowski's screenplay and efficient, claustrophobic direction create a superb microcosm of the crisis, capturing the uncertainty, paranoia, struggle for power, and uncomfortable sway between good intentions and abusive realities. And he was fortunate enough to cast Jeremy Irons as Nowak, the de facto leader of the exiled Warsaw laborers (and the only one who speaks English). Irons effectively buries his British voice and manner to reflect a man out of his element, more pragmatic than intelligent, both confident of his actions and fearful of their consequences. Like Spike Lee's Get on the Bus and Louis Malle's May Fools, Moonlighting concerns itself with the ideals and actions around a major historical event, perhaps teaching us more than the milling crowds and military hardware of a literal recreation might have done. ~ Mark Deming, RoviCast
- Jeremy Irons - Nowak
- Eugene Lipinski - Banaszak
- Jiri Stanislav - Wolski
- Eugeniusz Haczkiewicz - Kudaj
Credit
Michael Guest - Associate Producer, Debbie McWilliams - Casting, Jane Robinson - Costume Designer, Jerzy Skolimowski - Director, Barrie Vince - Editor, Stanley Myers - Composer (Music Score), Hans Zimmer - Composer (Music Score), Tony Woollard - Production Designer, Tony Pierce-Roberts - Cinematographer, Mark Shivas - Producer, Jerzy Skolimowski - Producer, Jerzy Skolimowski - Screenwriter, Barrie Vince - Screenwriter, Boleslaw Sulik - Screenwriter| Moonlight on the Range (1937 Film), Moonlight on the Prairie (1936 Film) | |
| Moonlighting (1985 Film), Moonlighting Mistress (1974 Film) |
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