‘In The Shadow Of The Moon’ (2019) : Is The Murder Of An Individual Involved In A Future Evil Act Ever Justified?

‘‘There are some things a man must not do to save a nation.’’

John O’Leary (1830–1907)

We open with an empty shattered office building with no sign of life and as the camera tracks along we see outside another building that has been almost completely destroyed and small fires still blaze at its base. A flag flutters down and it is similar to the Stars and Stripes but we know this flag is slightly, but crucially different. There are fewer Stars. Something is very wrong; the screen goes black and then there appears the time and place: Philadelphia 2024.

Next on the black screen we are given another date: 1988. But we are now in a past Philadelphia. We witness various people going about their lives. A pianist plays to an audience, a bus driver drives and a cook, well, cooks. We zoom in on the female bus driver and we are shown the book she is reading; it is a biography of Thomas Jefferson. A person in a hoodie is seen in the alleyway and they begin to run. Suddenly blood starts to pour from the orifices of each person we have seen and they slump down and are dead.

We see at the same time a cop with a pregnant wife prepare for his graveyard shift. They are obviously very much in…