Matt Dillon has had a long and interesting career. He’s appeared in so many great films that choosing a favorite is hard. In the early ’80s, Dillon was on fire with roles in The Outsiders, Little Darlings, and Rumble Fish. In 1981, he made a film called Liar’s Moon, which shocked audiences when it came out. It has finally found its way onto Blu-ray courtesy of the MVD Rewind Collection in a fully loaded Special Edition.
Fresh out of high school, Jack (Matt Dillon) goes to work and begins his life as a blue-collar worker. He meets and falls in love with a beautiful young girl named Ginny (Cindy Fisher), the daughter of the town’s banker. She is well off financially and fresh out of boarding school. Her father objects to their relationship, but it doesn’t stop the young couple from growing closer.
At summer’s end, Jack and Ginny leave Texas for Louisiana and elope. They think it would be the answer to all their problems, but both of their families are hellbent on making sure the two lovers don’t live happily ever after.
The film is a unique tale of forbidden love and a much stronger film than I expected. Even at such an early age, Dillon was still choosing edgier films for his starring roles and knocking them out of the park. Together, Dillon and Fisher truly elevate this film with their skills, nailing the emotional complexities of these characters and their dilemma.
It was also an extremely pleasant surprise seeing veteran character actors such as Susan Tyrrell, Richard Moll, Hoyt Axton, and Yvonne De Carlo appear in supporting capacities. Moll, in particular, stands out as a relentless private detective searching for the young lovers.
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The majority of the film is a by-the-numbers forbidden love story. The rich girl and the boy from the other side of the tracks, a story that’s been told a million different times. Just over the halfway point, it appears that the young couple may live happily ever after, but then the story takes an insanely sharp turn and grows pretty dark very quickly. This is when I became invested. Even after I read the tagline, “A tragic love story…” I wasn’t quite prepared for the twist.
The film famously had two endings: one happy and the other not so happy. MVD’s superb disc includes both endings, so you can choose which works best for you. It gets a bit overly dramatic sometimes, but it feels more like a classic ’50s or ’60s tale than an ’80s romance film.
Along with the alternate ending, MVD Rewind includes a brand-new feature-length behind-the-scenes documentary that showcases interviews with director David Fisher, composer Ray Benson, and several other key figures. This all adds to the impressive package and gives insight into this oddball flick.
While I wouldn’t normally seek out this dark romance film, it is definitely worth exploring, and MVD has once again delivered a wonderful presentation—not that I’d expect anything less.
