Lunar Sway review: Noah Parker shines in queer coming-of-age story
Following his 2024 debut feature, The Legacy of Cloudy Falls, writer, director and editor Nick Butler is back with his latest indie, Lunar Sway.
Set in the desert town of Mooncrest, the story follows Cliff (Noah Parker), a bored, lonely and directionless queer man who doesn’t really know what he wants and seems to float around, going along with other people’s ideas and sexual advances. One day, a woman named Marg (Liza Weil) turns up out of the blue claiming to be Cliff’s birth mother and they embark on an unexpected adventure.
Lunar Sway is a dark comedy and a coming-of-age story set in a unique, distinctive location. It follows Cliff as he finds much-needed connection and learns more about himself, who he wants to be and what he wants in life by going on this unpredictable journey with Marg. He is dying to leave his hometown, so their adventure seems exciting, but the novelty eventually wears off and his conscience becomes too loud to ignore.
The film’s greatest strength is Parker and Weil and their captivating on-screen relationship. Their characters are intriguing and well-written, and they bring them to life so naturally and effortlessly. The shapeshifting Marg is a particularly curious character, as you never really know when she’s lying or telling the truth. She’s a slippery one! Cliff encounters many others over the course of the film, including quirky and larger-than-life bounty hunter Bailey (the funny Grace Glowicki), creepy lover Stew (Douglas Smith), an unorthodox therapist Neal (Andy Yu) and an attractive artist (Kaden Connors).
The characters and a lot of the story beats are interesting, but they don’t pay off completely. There are lots of nice parts, but they don’t add up to a cohesive, satisfying whole. Plus, it’s not a laugh-out-loud funny film (except for a brilliant energy healer sequence) but more of a subtle comedy, with amusing, random and bizarre moments.
Lunar Sway doesn’t fully work, but I cannot fault the desert setting, the offbeat vibe or Weil and Parker’s performances.
Seen at BFI Flare Festival. No release date yet
Check out my interview with Nick Butler, Noah Parker and Liza Weil here