Mark Reviews Movies: MOVING ON

Moving On, Roadside Attractions

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Review by Mark Dujsik | March 16, 2023

Never deciding if it's a dark comedy about the toll of trauma or a sincere take on the subject, Moving On gives us a few individual scenes that pinpoint a distinct sense of anger, grief, or regret. One wonders what writer/director Paul Weitz's movie could have been if the filmmaker had stuck to those ideas or, at least, a consistent and cohesive tone.

What we do get from this confused movie, though, is admirable in either its comedic or dramatic mode. That's something, especially when the movie has veteran actors Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Malcolm McDowell, and Richard Roundtree to guide the material. There are moments and full scenes that promise so much more, yet Weitz's movie is too busy trying out different themes and approaches to take advantage of this story's solid core.

Fonda plays Claire, who leaves the Ohio town where she lives, leaving behind a beloved dog with her daughter and grandkids, in order to attend the funeral of an old friend in California. Something seems off, and we soon learn it has little to do with grief over a friend's death and nerves about flying.

The gimmick—which sounds flippant once it becomes clear what the underlying issue for Claire is, although Weitz's occasional touches of farce don't dissuade enough from using the term—is that Claire has a vendetta against the friend's husband. He's Howard, played by McDowell and presenting himself as a devoted, loving, and heartbroken widower. Claire knows something about the man, though. Whatever it is, it's enough for her to promise—not threaten—to kill him before her visit is complete.

There's almost no reason to try to hide what Howard did more than four decades ago, except that Weitz's screenplay avoids any direct mention of his awful misdeed so that it can serve as a bit of a surprise later. Fonda's performance, though, cuts to the core of Claire's disgust and ire with this man, as well as the character's long-standing pain, in such a way that Howard's act doesn't need to be spoken aloud for us to comprehend it. That's both the strength of Fonda's performance and maybe even a bit of wisdom on her part. In knowing or essentially understanding the nature of what happened and how it has affected Claire, the movie's premise hits harder and its dark humor is supported by an air of righteousness.

Claire's revenge plot is the main through line here, although Weitz is repeatedly distracted by an assortment of other concerns. A couple of them have to do with reunions. An extended one has Claire and another friend scheming to obtain a firearm with which to kill Howard. The other friend, by the way, is Tomlin's Evelyn, who went to college and shared a post-graduation apartment with the deceased woman.

She drops the bomb that Howard's wife and she were lovers before the seemingly happy couple met, and when her character isn't helping Claire or offering up the actor's trademark deadpan delivery of jokes, Tomlin doesn't have much to do here (She wonders if her now-deceased lover still had feelings for her over the decades and offers support to a kid who's going through gender identity issues). Weitz's focus on Evelyn as an equal to Claire's story of seeking closure is a misstep, but because it is Tomlin playing the role, one sympathizes with the filmmaker's choice.

The other major subplot—and the one that takes this material in yet another, albeit much-appreciated, direction—is Claire's unexpected reunion with her first husband. He's initially called in by Howard as a means of distracting Claire from whatever she might have planned at the memorial lunch. However, the character, played by Roundtree, and Claire's reconnection leads to a scene of real tenderness and vulnerability, as the two reminiscence, try to learn or explain what happened to their marriage, and realize there's still something between them.

Of all the assorted paths this movie starts down, this one works on its own, while also letting us know that there is more to Claire beyond the premise and the pain driving it forward. The scene and the bond between the two actors is so strong that there's probably a whole story to be found just in following through on the notion. Obviously, the movie doesn't do so, because it's simply too busy with Claire and Evelyn to consider the idea.

Basically, the whole of Moving On is a wobbly balancing act of trying to get at some genuine emotional truth about trauma by using a gimmicky setup, filled with a grim sense of humor. It is funny at times, particularly because Claire's motive is just and her goal isn't exactly as extreme as she first states, but the attempts at comedy do become convoluted and, more importantly, get in the way of the painful truth at the core of this story.

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