Luna (2014)

Luna: Directed by Dave McKean. With Ben Daniels, Dervla Kirwan, Stephanie Leonidas, Michael Maloney. After losing their baby, Grant and Christine visit a friend in his isolated and idyllic sea-side house. Over a long week-end, secrets are revealed and the life of the dead child is lived out in a series of fantastic dreams.

“For his third feature after Mirrormask and The Gospel of Us, renowned artist Dave McKean invites us to a cottage where grief, the past and magic all collide. This labour of love was filmed on location on the rugged North Devonshire coast seven years ago just before the investment collapsed. McKean has spent the intervening years working on the CGI, soundtrack and pickups.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFor those familiar with the artistu0026#39;s work in illustrating the seminal Arkham Asylum and the covers for the run of Neil Gaimanu0026#39;s Sandman, he again delivers his unique vision of long-limbed, warped fantasy characters, adorned with horns and not-quite faces. Designed, written, directed, co-scored and more by McKean, this truly is a labour of love. The plot follows an estranged couple coming to terms with a personal loss, trying to find some diversion by visiting a mutual friend and his young partner (Defiance and Mirrormasku0026#39;s Stephanie Leonidas). But the past has a way of catching up with you, and as secrets are revealed, home truths open the superficial cracks in the relationships. And thatu0026#39;s where the fantasy comes to play.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMcKean is working to the maxim u0026#39;write what you know aboutu0026#39;, basing the story in part on the experiences of a personal friend. By making the central male characters (Michael Maloney and Ben Daniels) old art school buddies he also gives himself permission to decorate the home with relevant paintings and sketches and maybe giving voice to some of his own personal views on the abuse of art? Deliberately ambiguous, a rationalist might claim that the fantasy elements can be explained as fever dreams or drunken deliriums. But what about that mysterious doctor? Is it just a magical weekend of Luna-cy?”