The Raging Moon (1971)   Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Nanette Newman, Georgia Brown and Barry Jackson Distributor: StudioCanal RRP: £TBC OPTD2939 Certificate: PG Release Date: 23 November 2015

At twenty-three, Bruce is a young man in the prime of his life when he is struck down with an illness which strips him of his ability to walk. This crushing blow turns him away from the happy-go-lucky outlook of a young man who enjoyed chasing girls and playing football to one of complete bitter negativity. Unwilling to go home he places himself in a care home, where he meets Jill...

The Raging Moon (1971. 1 hr 47 min 16 sec) is a bittersweet love story, written and directed by Bryan Forbes who directed the story from an original Peter Marshall play.

The film takes a naturalistic view of the impact of disability on its characters. Bruce (Malcolm McDowell) is very far from happy to lose the use of his legs. His experience of the home only makes his bitterness all the greater with its petty rules and restrictions. Although the church run home does what it does from the best intentions, few of those in charge realise that they are actually dehumanising their charges. Apart from the petty rules, the residents are wheeled out during a fete to smile and be grateful to the home's donors like pets.

Bruce only starts to take an interest in life when he meets Jill (Nanette Newman), who is likewise confined to a wheelchair. She is from a middle class background, also from a well-meaning family and yet her mother dresses her like a doll, rather than the woman she is and her fiancé is obviously desperate to get out of his marriage proposal. Like Bruce she breaks with her family and returns to the home.

The first half of the film is not an easy watch as it relentlessly removes hope and humanity from, not only Bruce and Jill, but all of the home's residents. The second half of the film settles down into a fairly traditional tale of boy meets girl, but even here the film does not shy away from examining the realities of their situation. With both of them paralysed will they be able to have children? The home they live in disapproves of their union as if the lack of legs somehow equated with a lack of adult desires and emotions or the sense to independently plan their own future.

Forbes has avoided presenting his two main actors as stereotype, either how they are as people or how they deal with being a paraplegic. McDowell’s initial portrayal oozes belligerence, whilst at the same time hinting at the emotional being hidden beneath his protective shell, one who writes poetry and longs for love. Newman’s Jill is the adult of the pair, but happy to be led somewhat astray by Bruce.

The film is part of the ‘Vintage Classics Collection’ and the print has undergone full restoration. The DVD comes with a couple of extras. The first is a contemporary interview with Malcolm McDowell (19 min, 39 sec) and there is another with Nanette Newman (18 min, 28 sec) both sharing their recollections of making the film. You also get a stills gallery and the original Theatrical Trailer (3 min, 34 sec).

This is not a particularly easy film to watch as it challenges you to question your own behaviour and prejudices regarding disability, plus Bruce’s reaction make the first half of the film an uneasy watch. Still, it’s well made, McDowell offers up his usual powerful performance and with little doubt this is probably Newman’s best role.

7

Charles Packer