Rated: M
Running Time: 93 mins
Director: Duncan Jones
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey (voice)
Sci-fi films have been around since the early days of cinema, but it wasn’t until Stanley Kubrick’s classic “2001: A Space Odyssey” in 1968 that the genre really took off. The 70’s saw a multitude of big budget sci-fi flicks, most of which turned into box office gold. But since then, good examples of the genre have been few and far between, and after the action packed “Star Trek”, comes a very different sci-fi, simply called “Moon”.
Sam Rockwell stars as Sam Bell, an astronaut stationed on the moon and coming to the end of his three-year contract. Apart from his computer co-worker Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey), Sam has been all alone in the lunar station, with only occasional videos from home to keep him sane. His job is to maintain the machines used to extract Helium 3 from the moon’s soil, which is then used as a new source of energy for Earth. It’s a fairly mundane job, which only requires occasional human interference, and on one routine check-up, Sam has an accident. Afterwards he starts hearing things, seeing things, and wonders whether he really is all alone up there after all.
“Moon” is the debut feature film from commercial director Duncan Jones, better known as David Bowie’s son. Talent must run in the family with Duncan also co-writing and shooting the film in just 33 days with a budget of only five million dollars.
This movie is one of the most interesting I have seen this year, with a remarkable performance from Sam Rockwell, who has the daunting task of having to carry the film. Sam is rarely in a scene with another person, and has to show multiple sides of his character. He pulls it off spectacularly, and will surely win a few awards for his efforts.
There’s a great twist in the film, revealed fairly early on, but which I won’t give away. The concept works best when it’s a surprise, and really plays with your mind in a wonderful way.
Reviewed by Alicia Malone
4 out of 5
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