Synopsis: Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is nearing the completion of his 3-year-long contract with Lunar Industries, mining Earth’s primary source of energy on the dark side of the moon. Alone with only the base’s vigilant computer Gerty (voiced by Oscar-Winner Kevin Spacey, 1999 Best Actor, American Beauty) as his sole companion, Bell’s extended isolation has taken its toll. His only link to the outside world comes from satellite messages from his wife and young daughter. He longs to return home, but a terrible accident on the lunar surface leads to a disturbing discovery that contributes to his growing sense of paranoia and dislocation so many miles away from home.

Moon is an engrossing, intelligent sci-fi thriller that ranks with genre classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey.
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Moon 8.25

I wish I had seen this film at home the first time around. Instead, I saw this at our local art-house cinema with a movie discussion group, and the experience was lacklustre. Not only was the sound pretty dull, but they actually projected the picture in such a way as to fill their screen – which basically cut off the end portions of the picture. And, if there’s anything I loathe, it’s a reframed picture (sci-fi films, in particular, tend to be pretty focused on the visuals).

‘Moon’ isn’t exactly filled with eye or ear candy, but it does have a visual flair that would have been nice to enjoy uncut – especially since this film has the most impact upon the first viewing, when you have no idea what’s going on and what to expect. This time around, unfortunately, I had a sense of what was going on (I say “sense” because I can hardly remember the details of each film I watch ), so the impact was lessened.

I simply would have liked to get the full effect the first time around is all, instead of spreading it over two films…

Because ‘Moon’ is an auspicious start to Duncan Jones’ career. It’s a well-conceived science-fiction film with not only some nice surprises, but a social consciousness as well. It’s got robots, maquettes (which weren’t wholly realistic, but were better than CGI ), lunar landscapes, clones, and all sorts of other good things. It’s even got shades of ‘2001’ (in the robot and set designs), which I like to consider a nod more than a rip off, wrapped up in what a friend of mine considers a vibe akin to ‘The Shining’.

I mean, really, could you possibly do better on your first film?

Well, you could also get a solid actor who can play off of himself and tap into a rich enough emotional life as to offer us a variety of colours. I’ve never seen Sam Rockwell better than in ‘Moon’. Truth be told, I’ve never been a huge fan of the actor, even though he pops up just about everywhere – I always found him either sinister or sleazy. But he really impressed me here. In fact, any reticence I’ve had has been replaced with a newly found admiration. I just hope it holds up.

Most of the film is spent alone with Rockwell (who, ironically, plays a character named Sam), save for the minor part played by Kevin Spacey, as the robot who helps Sam on the lunar base (and who is programmed to empathize with Sam and make his life bearable above all else). Because, as it is, Sam is the only engineer on this base, overseeing its working operations where the robot can’t.

However, he’s at the tail-end of a three-year contract and, as he nears escape from his prolonged isolation, his reality suddenly start to fritter away.

The story was conceived by Duncan himself, although the script was fashioned by Nathan Parker. It was a funny, refreshing tale, in that it was all character-driven – instead of being action-based, in the way we seem to enjoy our science-fiction the most these days (et tu, ‘Inception’?). It also tackles questions of ethics, corporate responsibility, the value of human life, perception of reality (amongst other things), along the way. It’s got depth and it gives food for thought, which is really nice; the best science fiction usually does.

That’s about all I can reveal about ‘Moon. I must be extremely vague in discussing it because even disclosing a detail about Sam’s life could ruin a viewer’s initial enjoyment of the film. It’s a delight due to of all the twists and turns, after all, so I would hate to be a spoil sport. If there’s anything worse than spoilers, it’s when a film is built on a mystery, as is ‘Moon’.

But let me end with: I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to fans of sci-fi who don’t need laser gun battles, ginormous spaceships and alien creatures to be entertained (ex: Star Wars series, Star Trek 2008). It would also make for a good time out for anyone who likes to think a little bit instead of switching off or dumbing down (ex: ‘Transformers’, ‘Independence Day’).

It’s not necessarily an especially intellectual film, but it’s a thinking person’s film. And, as far as I’m concerned, that’s a good thing.

Post scriptum: I have yet to see ‘Source Code’, Jones’ sophomore effort, but if it’s anywhere as good as his debut…