Stone Reader

continued

It is not giving too much away to say that eventually Moskowitz does find Dow Mossman, living — in perfect irony — in his family home in Sioux City, Iowa. The scenes that follow, in which Moskowitz and Mossman meet, are remarkably honest without being at all melodramatic. Mossman is a soft-spoken man, naturally shy, and clearly taken aback by all the attention as Moskowitz gently prods him for the story of his life. Watching Moskowitz and Mossman sitting in the author's childhood bedroom, discussing and trading books with the enthusiasm of young boys swapping baseball cards, is truly magical.

Stone Reader is a wonderful achievement, a deserving winner of the 2002 Sundance Film Festival's Special Grand Jury Honor and Audience Award for Best Picture. It's at the Madstone Theaters for at least a week beginning Friday, August 29.   

[Originally published in September, 2003.]