the man in the moon be a warm and move come of age drama center around a farm family in the 1950 . the main story follow a 14 year old girl ( reese witherspoon ) who develop a crush on a 17 year old neighbor ( jason london ) who end up fall for her old sister ( emily warfield ) and how an unexpected tragedy alters this family dynamics forever . the 1950 be lovingly evoke here and the screenplay give you character you come to care about almost immediately . witherspoon already begin to show the oscar win talent she would develop in this early role and london make a charming leading man . warfield lend a quiet maturity to the role of the old sister that be effective as well . kudos to sam waterston and tess harper who play the girl parent and gail strickland and who play london mom . i be unexpectedly move by this quiet and affect drama that stir up strong emotion and give deep meaning to the phrase family tie .