Story
Pre-teen Monday (Ashlyn-Louden Gamble) suffers from a terminal illness that will likely kill her before she’s 16. She takes medication that makes her feel sick, and she’s home-schooled by her father, Bob (Aaron Jeffery). Monday dreams of going to see the Moon Rock (Uluru) in the hope that its healing powers will make her well again.
While chasing her pet rabbit onto a train, Monday meets Tyler (George Pullar), a troubled teenager who has just robbed a jewellery store and accidentally killed a cop. Desperate to get out of town, he decides to head to the Northern Territory. Tyler says that he’ll take Monday to see the Moon Rock on the way.
As Monday and Tyler set off, vengeful police launch a nationwide search. And while Monday and Tyler share adventures, overcome obstacles and form an unbreakable friendship, Bob is following his own lead across the country in search of his daughter.
Themes
Death of a pet; death of parents; separation from a parent; missing a child; living with terminal illness; troubled teenagers; police corruption; doing the wrong thing for a good reason; the fear of being replaced
Violence
Moon Rock for Monday has some violence. For example:
- Tyler holds a gun and psyches himself up to use it by looking at himself in a restroom mirror. As he leaves the restroom, people run away after seeing the gun in his hands.
- Tyler shoots at and accidentally kills a police officer. Another officer calls him a dead man.
- Monday’s dad, Bob, threatens one of Tyler’s teenage friends. Bob throws things around as he searches for information about his missing daughter.
- Tyler tells Monday that if he gets hungry, he’ll eat her rabbit.
- Bob smashes the phone in a phone booth in an act of frustration.
- A truck driver attacks Tyler in a bathroom. They punch and wrestle each other all over the floor while Monday watches in horror.
- Tyler attacks a man after he’s accused of taking cigarettes. Tyler then steals the man’s van.
- Tyler roughly forces his way into a pharmacy to get medication for Monday, scaring the girl who’s opening up.
- Police officers shoot Tyler in the shoulder. As he runs away, they continue to fire at him, shooting him repeatedly.
Sexual references
Moon Rock for Monday has no sexual references:
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Moon Rock for Monday shows some use of substances. For example:
- Monday must take strong medicine. The medicine prolongs her life but also makes her feel very sick.
- A teenage boy seems to be affected by substance use, and Tyler mentions that the boy has been ‘sniffing’. Tyler tries to help the boy get medication or pain relief for a physical disability.
- The man who picks up Bob admits that he is a little ‘baked’ and asks Bob to drive. As the man gets into the back seat, he offers Bob a joint. When the police stop them a short while later, the man looks panicked and asks for the bag in his glove compartment. He quickly stuffs what appears to be marijuana into his mouth.
- A man who picks up Tyler and Monday is drinking beer while he drives. He asks Tyler if he’d also like a beer, which Tyler accepts. He later appears to be drunk.
- The same man also asks Tyler to pass him his ‘ciggies’ and later accuses him of taking the cigarettes.
Nudity and sexual activity
Moon Rock for Monday has no nudity and sexual activity.
Product placement
There’s no product placement in Moon Rock for Monday.
Coarse language
Moon Rock for Monday has some coarse language.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Moon Rock for Monday is an on-the-run drama with believable performances by the two lead actors. The starkness of the landscapes they travel through is like a reflection of the emotional turbulence of their lives. But their caring relationship brings hope to the story.
Because of its overall themes and content, Moon Rock for Monday is best suited to mature audiences.
The main messages from this movie are to live in the present moment and to go after your dreams no matter what they are or where they might lead you.
Values in Moon Rock for Monday that you could reinforce with your children include compassion, adventure, determination, understanding and redemption.
Moon Rock for Monday could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues, like the consequences of:
- going off with people you don’t know and not telling anyone where you are
- talking to strangers
- hitchhiking
- drug use
- using violence to solve problems
- stealing
- replacing a pet instead of going through a grieving process
- taking the easy way out of things even when you know it isn’t right.