Claire of the Moon

The context in which you watch a movie has a major influence on what you think of it. I watched Claire of the Moon while putting together an IKEA dresser. And it was the perfect choice of movie for that activity so, I enjoyed it. If you’re looking for a WLW movie to build furniture to, Claire of the Moon is a great option.

The film takes place at a writer’s retreat. The two lead characters, Claire and Noel are roommates at the retreat. Claire is a sexually free, easy-going woman who has suffered a recent breakup. Noel is a intellectual, stuffy, lesbian psychiatrist. And wouldn’t you believe it, these two opposite start to fall for each other. This is set against a backdrop of intellectual discussions about women, sexuality and human nature.

Claire of the Moon is a very intellectual movie. A lot of this is dense dialogue talking about philosophy, psychology and related subjects. I do wish for a few more moments of lightness and humour within the film. A show of awareness about how intellectual and somewhat pretentious these discussions can be would’ve helped a lot. The film does potentially have limited appeal given its intellectual focus on feminism and lesbianism. Men, for example would find little here. There are few male main characters and when men are brought up as a topic of discussion, it’s largely about their failings.

Claire asks Noel a great deal of questions about what it’s like to be a lesbian or why she’s a lesbian that allows Noel to give thoughtful, lengthy answers. Luckily, this is a case where the exploration of the lesbian identity is done by a lesbian. Writer/director Nicole Conn is not only a queer woman but one who shows with this movie she is very good at articulating her experiences. What is funny is that she’s less good at writing heterosexual characters so these characters lack some depth. I’m okay with that because I think seeing this inverse is funny.

While the film is intellectual, it is also successfully sensual. As Noel and Claire’s relationship evolves from mental to physical, Conn shows she is adept at depicting both. There are some good love scenes here. They aren’t raunchy but romantic and urgent. It’s impressive that Conn shows talent here for both physical and mental intimacy.

Claire of the Moon has a great script but I do long for better direction or a higher budget. This is a film that could’ve been taken from good to great by use of more artistic flourishes and ambitious cinematography. There are scenes and moments that are more impressionistic but I still wish for more of them. With a film as dialogue heavy as this, it could really benefit from more moments of visual interest. Like many films of the 90’s, the film’s colour palette is a lot of muted neutrals. But my millennial ass is out here almost 30 years after the film’s release wishing it would use bolder colours and contrast like what has become a common style among contemporary films.

What’s weird is that while I don’t know if I think this movie is better than Conn’s 2010 film, Elena Undone, I am giving it a higher review. Context and in particular, timing comes into play here. In 1993, Conn was on a cutting edge of queer representation with Claire of the Moon. But though she evolved as an artist by the time she made Elena Undone, queer cinema evolved faster. Claire of the Moon works as a time capsule of the time it was made in and I’m giving it some points for that. Made in an era with limited queer cinema, this is a smart, sensual and overall positive representation of lesbianism that’s a great movie to build furniture to.

Overall rating: 6.3/10

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