Director: Duncan Jones
Actors: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey, Dominique McElligott
The trailer for Moon is absolutely fantastic. I remember seeing it and immediately thinking "I've got to see that film" and I was waiting several months from seeing the trailer to actually getting to watch the film itself. So when I got to the cinema my expectations were high, raised further by some favorable reviews. For once, I was actually not disappointed.
Moon is the first feature film by Duncan Jones, notably the son of David Bowie, and is an absolutely brilliant debut. Sam Rockwell plays Sam Bell, a miner on a lunar base with a crew of one, on a three year mission to mine Helium 3 - the fuel for environment-saving nuclear fusion energy. His only companionship is the ever-so-subtly creepy helper robot Gertie, expertly voiced by Kevin Spacey. So as you may have picked up, we are firmly in science fiction territory here. However, those expecting explosions, aliens and CGI please bugger off and watch something pointless like the latest three Star Wars films. This is science fiction as it should be: a film about an idea best framed in the setting of space.
The basic premise of the film is that during a routine operation there is an accident out on the lunar surface. Sam crashes his lunar vehicle and awakes some time later back on the lunar base, unharmed but with little recollection of the crash and Gertie seeming to be keeping something from him: "I'm here to keep you safe, Sam." I actually don't want to give away any more of the plot than that, as although the trailer does go a little further, it actually takes quite a long time in the film before the key aspect to the plot is revealed.
Suffice to say that being alone on the moon, the central premise to the story is about solitude and that it is only when you realise that you are truly alone that you discover yourself. One thing that I haven't heard mentioned as inspiration for the film, but seems quite a coincidence if not, was that on the way to the moon on the Apollo 11 mission, Buzz Aldrin had a reoccurring dream about almost the exact same situation. Aside from the central theme there are interesting points raised about the morality of certain scientific technologies (ones that I won't mention by name for fear of spoiling) and the nature of individuality.
One or two extremely minor gripes with the film is that although it is fairly scientifically accurate most of the way through the lunar vehicles making noise (no noise in space) and apparent extra gravity on the lunar base but not outside (but that's being really picky) were slight distractions. It must also be said that they did do a fantastic job of making the outside shots look like the moon too. Others have also said that it was a bit slow, but I found the pace was very fitting for the situation and the film itself feels about the right length.
In all, this is a superbly acted, charming, engaging film and a brilliant directorial debut. I would absolutely recommend this to anybody who likes there films to be about something rather than just explosions and giant robots (Michael Bay, it is not). Even if you do prefer your films to have a promotional line of toys, then give this a try, you might just be surprised. It is fantastic to see a small-budget UK science fiction film making a reasonable impact in cinemas, even on a limited release. This film is original, clever and charming and will make you want to talk to people about it after you've watched it.
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