Moonlighting – 1982 | 97 mins | Drama | Colour

Plot Synopsis

One month after martial law was declared in Poland, émigré Jerzy Skolimowski initiated this intimate drama charting the claustrophobic lives of four Poles working in London as a political metaphor for the power struggle taking place in Poland in 1981. Jeremy Irons narrates throughout and produces an exceptional interpretation of Nowak’s anxiety, determination and sense of betrayal.

Four Polish building labourers led by English-speaking foreman Nowak (Jeremy Irons), arrive in England to carry out a month’s illegal moonlighting for a rich compatriot. Their task is to renovate a London flat with a strict deadline of one month. The problem is its December 1981, the train union Solidarity is suppressed and Russia has imposed martial law in Poland, cutting off the telephone service and screening all mail. Nowak, the only English-speaker of the four, learns of the turmoil in Poland but decides to keep the news secret rather than jeopardize their work.

Nowak pushes his co-workers mercilessly to make sure the project is completed on time, refusing them permission to go to church on Sunday’s and secretly burning their letters so that they remain unaware of the Soviet incursion upon their native soil. Nowak has a rude awakening to the harsh realities of city life when his bicycle is stolen and neighbours fill their skip by night, but after a plumbing mistake forces him to exceed their strict budget, Nowak is reduced to stealing and shoplifting with his own unique style of naivety and charm. The job is completed on time, the workers have purchased watches with their bonus pay, but on their way to the airport Nowak must reveal the truth of the momentous events back home.