I really like the idea behind this little independent film because it could have been me fifty years ago.  Maybe it should have been.  Perhaps this story will inspire some young visual artist to put their fears and trepidations behind them, pick up a camera and tell the stories that matter to them.  Steven Spielberg did it, and look where that instinct led him.  I failed to do it and now write reviews about others who have dared to expose themselves to judgment and share their talents in the movies.

Leah Bleich’s film shares high school student Lydia’s (Isabel May) story.  After losing her beloved father, she finds among his things an unfinished screenplay.  A burst of inspiration prods her to pick up her video camera and persuade her friend Simon (Miles Guiterrez-Riley) to help her make the movie “Space Chronicles” at and around her high school.  This helps bring Lydia out of her protective cocoon but also brings conflict with her mother (Missi Pyle).  And her father’s story lacks an ending . . .

This slight but winning movie benefits from a sincere approach to both Lydia’s teenage angst and grief as well as the pure joy of creating something meaningful (even if the resulting creation is not really very good).  But the story also suffers from a somewhat superficial approach to the filmmaking and its complications, as well as the inevitable clichés regarding blossoming friendships, domestic tranquility and the need to move on after tragic circumstances.  The film also suffers a bit from underdevelopment; at 75 minutes it’s ten or fifteen minutes too short; more should have been done involving the movie’s high school impacts, I think.

Ultimately the best thing about The Moon and Back is its performances.  Isabel May is terrific as Lydia; she is now appearing in the “Yellowstone” prequels on television.  Miles Guiterrez-Riley, Missi Pyle and, as Lydia’s guidance counselor, P. J. Byrne create memorable characters.  Molly Jackson is also memorable in a smaller role; I wish she had much more to do in the story.  And it would have been nice had Lydia’s father’s space opera story been better than the absolute fluff that it is.  This movie is just a bit too slight for me to term it a full-fledged success, but it is pretty good and is certainly worth watching.  ☆ ☆ 1/2.  7 December 2024.