Dir.
Duncan Jones, 2009, UK, 97 mins
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey (voice)
Review by
Martyn Bamber
For science fiction film fans feeling starved of intelligent space based cinema, Moon will come as a surprise and a relief. While the horror genre has flourished in the last ten to fifteen years, sci-fi movies have been lacking in both output and quality over the same period of time. There have been a few gems here and there (Cypher in 2002 and Primer in 2004 are two examples), but on the whole the genre has not been in a healthy state. And while special effects in sci-fi movies grow increasingly amazing and convincing, they are often used to just bolster a simple plot or dazzle an audience, instead of supporting a strong story or intriguing ideas - things that the best science fiction films can offer.
While the new Star Trek film may have this summer successfully brought audiences that wouldn't normally go to a science fiction film into cinemas, it was more of a thrilling Flash Gordon -like cliff-hanger serial than a thought provoking drama set in the future. While Star Trek director J.J. Abrams undoubtedly made Trek epic and exciting again, the film favoured action and melodrama over interesting ideas. In contrast, Moon is a science fiction film that uses its space setting to explore the heart and the mind, and does so with a handful of characters, a minimum of sets and a more low-key, serious tone that's more reminiscent of serious dramas like Solaris (both versions) and Silent Running (1972) than it is the ‘gee whiz' heroics of new Star Trek or the original Star Wars (1977).
Moon focuses on Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), an astronaut living on the moon and mining Helium-3, an environmentally friendly energy source of great benefit to Earth. Aside from a computer named Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey) that oversees most of the functions on the moonbase, Sam lives and works alone, with recorded messages being his only link to the people on Earth (including his wife Tess, played by Dominique McElligott). Sam has almost finished his three year posting on the moon and is due to return to Earth, when some odd things begin to happen on the base. Eventually Sam is involved in accident and events then take an even stranger turn and lead him to start questioning everything, including himself.
While the technical aspects of Moon are im press ive (including some excellent model work that convincingly brings the moon surface to life), it's the performance of Sam Rockwell that dominates the film rather than any elaborate special effects or eye-catching sets (although these elements are very good as well). Rockwell once again proves that he's a versatile and gifted actor, and he makes the character and situation believable. Rockwell shows Sam slowly coming to terms with his strange situation, and deftly communicates his character's confused state of mind. His performance is the heart and soul of the Moon , and it's possibly his best big screen work to date.
First time director Duncan Jones and his crew make the most an intriguing premise, taking a seemingly straightforward central idea that, once revealed, develops in surprising and complex ways. Like some of the best science fiction films, Moon features a character, who undergoes a major change in his life due to an extraordinary event. This character is then faced with fundamental questions about their existence, and attempts to answer these questions using science and technology, as well as their own ingenuity. While Sam is an astronaut, who goes through incredible experiences in the course of the film, he is also presented as an everyman, and we can easily identify with him when his world is turned upside down.
Moon shows us a character struggling to maintain their uniqueness and significance as a human being, while working for a faceless and heartless corporation (which is not a new idea, but it's still relevant, and it feels fresh here). And while Earth's environmental problems are seemingly solved by Helium-3, there is a cruel spin on recycling here that profoundly affects Sam. Instead of being a simple big budget rollercoaster ride like the aforesaid new Star Trek or any number of the other fantasy adventure movies playing on cinema screens this summer, Moon is a more thoughtful, small-scale science fiction story with big ideas, and a film that's well worth seeking out.
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