The light pastel colours of Bonnie’s office space further reinforce our expectations that we’re in for a relatively enjoyable if bland romantic story.Īs a consequence, the effect of the rape on the story is initially one of shock – telegraphed only moments before by a change in lighting and a handheld camera, the attack emphasises Bonnie’s perspective as it seems to come out of nowhere, radically altering the direction we were expecting the story to go in. The opening scenes of The Light of The Moon set the film up as more of a romantic comedy-drama her co-worker Jack (Conrad Ricamora) is framed as the ‘best friend’ character of the romantic lead meanwhile boyfriend Matt (Michael Stahl-David) ditching her at the last minute to go on his own work night out hints at future dramatic tension. Her boyfriend, friends and co-workers naturally rally round to support her, but in the immediate aftermath, Bonnie is emotionally distanced from the people around her, leaving her to ultimately work through her ordeal on her own. Thompson’s debut directorial feature is a timely and sensitive depiction of post-trauma and of a culture that intentionally or otherwise, seeks to perpetuate women’s victimhood.Īfter a night out with her co-workers, Bonnie (Stephanie Beatriz) is raped as she walks home. Thompson’s The Light of The Moon arrives on VOD through Amazon Prime. Photo Credit: Imagination Worldwide / The Film CollaborativeĪfter winning the Narrative Feature Competition at last year’s SXSW Festival, Jessica M.

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