Mountain FogMOON: THAT'S PRETTY FREAKY, BOWIE
October 16th 2009 09:35
Sam Rockwell stars as a lonely lunar miner in Moon.
If Star Trek and District 9 were science fiction coming off life support, Moon is the genre once again walking and flexing its muscles. This is smart sci-fi and innovative film making, bending a set of influences into something entirely new and fascinating.
And it comes from none other than the son of Ziggy Stardust himself, Mr Zowie Bowie. These days he goes by the almost prosaic moniker of Duncan Jones, but Moon proves the young director shares his famous father’s penchant for deep thought and ethereal emotion.
Not that the quality of Moon should be laid solely at the feet of Jones. The film also benefits from inspired visual effects, a heart-pumping score and, perhaps most significantly, a skintight script courtesy of Nathan Parker.
Parker has efficiently set up the world inhabited by lone lunar astronaut, Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell). For three long years, Bell has dutifully worked the moon’s surface, harvesting Helium 3 for Lunar, a company that claims it holds the key to solving humankind's energy crisis.
Sam’s contract is soon to come to an end, however, and he’s eagerly anticipating returning to Earth to his wife and daughter, the solitude having afforded him the time to reflect on his past and solve some serious anger management issues.
But the isolation is starting to make the astronaut uneasy, and as he enters the last two weeks of his long stay he begins to experience unsettling visions and impossible sounds. After one of these visions causes Sam to crash his extraction truck, it becomes apparent Lunar hasn't been entirely straightforward with him about their plans for a replacement. And as he struggles to recover from the accident, a baffling new recruit indicates to Sam that the life he’s created may not entirely be his own.
Initially there seems to be very little to the tale. But after Sam’s accident, Parker’s script begins to tunnel deeper and deeper into the dark soul of this story, unleashing a flood of theme and subtext regarding the nature of both modern corporations and the human condition that allows people to willingly engage in their own exploitation.
Holding things together on screen is a beautiful performance by Rockwell. Often acting on his lonesome, or in one on one exchanges with the suspiciously helpful robot, GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey in an inspired piece of casting), the up-and-coming star unleashes all of his intimidating and slightly maladjusted energy. Moon frequently boils down to being a labyrinthine character study, and Rockwell sells it to the audience completely.
Don't be fooled by the paltry budget: Moon is one of the best looking films in recent memory.
Throughout, Jones and Parker have immense fun referencing classic sci-fi films such as 2001, Silent Running, Alien and Outland, playing with and eschewing their influences. GERTY is a classic example, fiddling with everything you know about both HAL and the myriad of characters Kevin Spacey has played during his career, while a rescue countdown clock is lifted straight from Outland.
And as the film develops it gathers an impressive head of steam, the tension present from the first frame pulling itself together to a place a tremendous weight on the audience’s nerves by the final act.
It may have been made on a paltry $5 million, but thanks to its thematic grandeur, some inspired technical aspects and a clear focus on human elements of its drama, Moon has proven itself a worthy addition to the pantheon of brainy science fiction films from which it draws so much inspiration. Welcome back sci-fi -- it’s good to have you home.
Check out the trailer for Moon below:
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Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
I missed this one at the cinema but am eager to catch it on DVD. Sci Fi is the most subversive of genres IMO and your review is just teh next in a long line praising this film.
Consider me a massive Rockwell fan too!
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight