Cast: Trisha Todd, Karen Trumbo
Director: Nicole Conn
Producer: Pamela S. Curi
Screenplay: Nicole Conn
Cinematography: Randolph Sellars
Music: Michael Allen Harrison
U.S. Distributor: Demi-Monde Productions
Claire Jabrowski (Trisha Todd) is the California-based author of titles like Life Can Ruin Your Hair. While writing her next book, she has decided to spend time at an all-female writers' retreat. After arriving, Claire meets her roommate, Dr. Noel Benedict (Karen Trumbo), the lesbian author of the infamous The Naked Truth. Noel and Claire are as different from each other as two women can be, and that's the cause of inevitable friction. Where Noel is neat, orderly, non-smoking, and averse to casual relationships, Claire is the exact opposite. Yet, as the story progresses, the two find themselves inexplicably drawn to each other.
Claire of the Moon makes a few interesting points, but almost all are realized on an intellectual, not emotional, level. There's a great deal of academic discussion about the differences between heterosexual and homosexual relationships, the nature of intimacy, and why there is so much difficulty communicating in modern society. While the viewer may not always agree with the characters' conclusions, it's impossible to deny the thoughtfulness of their reasoning.
Men are not treated particularly well in this film, and writer/director Nicole Conn makes no apologies for this. They are portrayed as sex objects -- bodies to satiate Claire's hunger. Turnabout, after all, is fair play. How many times have women filled this role in male-oriented movies?
Ultimately, however, Claire of the Moon doesn't work. While the film undoubtedly attempts to pique the intellect, it is, above all else, a love story, and, as such, should rouse the emotions as well. For a number of reasons, it proves unable to do so.
First and foremost is the amateurish quality of the screenplay. The basic story is formula-riddled and predictable (the only difference being that the lovers are two women rather than a man and a women). The dialogue is stilted, with every character talking like she's reading from an intellectual treatise. The acting isn't going to win any awards, either. At their best moments, the principles are adequate. Their characters lack depth, more often acting as mouthpieces for a philosophy than as the unique people they're supposed to be.
Conn's direction isn't much better than her writing. She has a lot of mellow "scenery shots" with Claire in reflective poses that look like they belong on the cover of a romance novel. Accompanied by a "dreamy" score, these moments are almost comically absurd. Then there are two fantasy sequences that look and sound like poorly-conceived music videos.
While it's possible to laud the motives and message of Claire of the Moon, the means are dubious. With a poorly-written love story that never clicks, this single-issue picture is too flawed to offer the subject matter its deserved exposure.
© 1993, 1996 James Berardinelli