In the Shadow of the Moon (2019 film)

In the Shadow of the Moon
Official poster
Directed by	Jim Mickle
Written by	Gregory Weidman Geoff Tock
Produced by	Brian Kavanaugh-Jones Ben Pugh Rian Cahill Linda Moran Jim Mickle
Starring	Boyd Holbrook Cleopatra Coleman Michael C. Hall
Cinematography	David Lanzenberg
Edited by	Michael Berenbaum
Music by	Jeff Grace
Production companies	42 Automatik Nightshade
Distributed by	Netflix
Release dates	September 21, 2019 (2019-09-21) (Fantastic Fest) September 27, 2019 (2019-09-27) (United States)
Running time	115 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

In the Shadow of the Moon is a 2019 American science fiction thriller film directed by Jim Mickle and written by Gregory Weidman and Geoff Tock. It stars Boyd Holbrook, Cleopatra Coleman, and Michael C. Hall. The film had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 21, 2019. It was later released on September 27, 2019, by Netflix.

Plot

In 1988, several people simultaneously hemorrhage to death in Philadelphia. Police officer Thomas Lockhart believes the case to be his ticket to becoming a detective, though his partner, Maddox, is less enthusiastic. Lockhart's brother-in-law, Detective Holt, initially dismisses Lockhart's observations but eventually admits the deaths are connected when Lockhart finds similar wounds on each victim. Lockhart and Maddox find an assault victim with similar wounds; before suddenly dying, she describes her assailant as a twenty-something African American woman with a wounded hand. After Holt organizes a citywide manhunt, Lockhart and Maddox chase the suspect into a subway, where she subdues Maddox. When Lockhart confronts her, the suspect reveals details about his life, including that his wife will give birth that day. She predicts her own death just prior to a struggle, which ends with a train hitting her. Although confused about the many unexplained details, the police close the case. Meanwhile, Lockhart's wife dies in childbirth.

Nine years later, amid protests against police brutality on the anniversary of the suspect's death, an apparent copycat begins another killing spree. Lockhart, now a detective, can find no apparent motive or connection between the victims. He urges the department to keep the reopened investigation quiet to minimize racial tensions. Riots break out when Holt publicizes surveillance footage of the copycat and promises a full investigation. Lockhart traces keys retrieved in 1988 to an aircraft manufactured in 1996. Naveen Rao, a physicist, insists this is proof of time travel, but Maddox and Lockhart ignore him. After tracking the copycat to an airfield, Lockhart is shocked to find the same suspect from 1988, who is alive and has not aged. She unintentionally kills Maddox and takes Lockhart hostage, again revealing knowledge about his life she could not know. After warning him off, she disappears.

In 2006, Lockhart is a private investigator obsessed with solving the case, which he now believes involves time travel. His teenage daughter lives with Holt, and Lockhart maintains only occasional contact with her. A recent breakthrough leads him to believe the victims are connected through involvement in political extremism. Holt dismisses his theories and insists he get psychiatric help. Lockhart steals Holt's badge, uses it to impersonate a police officer, and tracks down a victim's wife. She reveals that her husband ran a white nationalist militia group. Lockhart finds the suspect has returned again, killing the remaining members of the group. While chasing her, he wounds her hand before she disappears in a time machine. Holt arrests Lockhart.

Rao, who disappeared for years, resurfaces in 2015, determined to stop Lockhart from interrupting the woman's next killing spree. Rao, who now believes the woman's cause to be justified, says that one could avert major tragedies by killing enough people in the past. Lockhart escapes from Rao and confronts the woman, who reveals herself as Rya, his estranged daughter's child from an interracial marriage. In the future, Lockhart convinced Rya to take the mission after the militia group's terrorism triggered a new civil war. Rya is traveling backwards in time, appearing every nine years in reverse chronological order. From her perspective, the events in 1988 have yet to occur, and her hand is not yet wounded. Overcome with guilt over causing his own granddaughter's death, Lockhart reveals to her the events that unfold in 1988. Convinced that her cause is just, he lets her complete the killings. Lockhart reunites with his family, and the civil war is averted.

Cast

• Boyd Holbrook as Thomas Lockhart
• Cleopatra Coleman as Rya
• Bokeem Woodbine as Maddox
• Rudi Dharmalingam as Naveen Rao
• Rachel Keller as Jean
• Michael C. Hall as Holt

Production

The project was announced in February 2018, with Jim Mickle directing and Boyd Holbrook set to star in the lead role. The film would be produced and distributed by Netflix. In June 2018, Michael C. Hall joined the cast of the film. In July 2018, Cleopatra Coleman and Bokeem Woodbine joined the cast.

Speaking about the project, director Mickle declared:

“Gregory [Weidman] and Geoff’s [Tock] script is such a great mind bender and beautifully weaves together all my favorite genres, Boyd [Holbrook] is going to eat this role alive and show why he’s one of the best young actors working today. We’re lucky to have an incredibly talented producing team and a home like Netflix that’s excited to take chances. Any studio that makes Okja has a permanent place in my heart.”

Principal production commenced on July 2, 2018 and ended on August 27, 2018 in Ontario, Canada.

Release

The film had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 21, 2019. On September 27, 2019, the film was available to stream on Netflix.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 65% based on 23 reviews, with a weighted average of 5.92/10. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 48 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

External links

• In the Shadow of the Moon at IMDb
• In the Shadow of the Moon on Netflix