Recent Release Reviewed!!! Moon

First, a word of explanation. Over the next week or so, the blog will publish a few reviews from over the summer, which were written before Cold Weather, Hot Coffee, Warm Kino was offering central heating and genre discussion. A couple of these will be vaguely relevant, as they are just emerging onto DVD, but some will be a little late (A special apology for the tardiness of the Drag Me to Hell review). However, these films are very much on the CWHCWK agenda, so we hope you will enjoy reading them!.
So, without further ado, here's the review of Duncan Jones' Moon

MOON


Starring: Sam Rockwell, Benedict Wong, Matt Berry, the voice of Kevin Spacey
Screenplay: Nathan Parker, Duncan Jones
Director: Duncan Jones





Science fiction has always been a broad, inclusive genre. There’s room for brainless explosions, heart-stopping terror, and philosophical musings. Duncan Jones’ Moon falls squarely into the latter category. It’s also essentially a one-man show, with star Sam Rockwell once again proving that he is one of the finest actors working today.

On lunar mining facility Sarang Sam Bell (Rockwell) is two weeks away from finishing his three-year solo stint. He’s also starting to lose his grip on reality, seeing figures that he knows can’t possibly be there. He’s talking to himself, the live communication feed to Earth is down, and his only company is the station’s robot Gerty (Kevin Spacey). As Bell says in a recorded message to Earth, “Three years is a long haul…it’s too long…”. After crashing his lunar rover, Sam wakes up in the infirmary with no memory of what happened. Seeing that one of the harvesters is broken, he goes out to investigate and finds…well, that’d ruin the film.

Jones bravely plays the twist card very early on in the film. Although the trailer made it look like a “What’s going on?” movie, it’s in fact more of a “So, this is what’s going on, what are we going to do now?”. It’s also decidedly lo-fi, something of a relief after the summer’s CGI-reliant blockbusters. A combination of well-crafted miniatures and wonderfully detailed, grimy sets, Moon brings back memories of old-school science fiction such as Alien and Silent Running. The lunar base is dusty and grimy, and Gerty has a “kick me” post-it note stuck to its back. Sarang actually looks like one man has been living in it alone for three years.

Of course, Moon hinges on its leading man. It’s difficult to talk about Rockwell’s performance in too much detail without spoiling the plot. When we first meet him, his hair and beard are unkempt, he’s snapping at Gerty, and having visions of a dark-haired young woman. This isn’t our usual sci-fi hero; this is an actual person. Bell is also committed to his job, possibly because to relieve the tedium, possibly because he actually cares. We are given some clues that he agreed to take the job after arguing with his wife who sends him occasional video messages showing him his young daughter. Bell can’t wait to return to Earth, but we also get the feeling that life may not be that much easier at home. Jones reportedly wrote the role for Sam Rockwell and the actor makes it his own. It’s a performance that is both heartbreaking and wryly funny.

Special mention must also go to Kevin Spacey whose vocal performance conveys a strange benevolence while simultaneously hinting at concealed motives. Meanwhile the shady company executives are only seen on grainy video footage, ably played by Benedict Wong (Sunshine) and Matt Berry (Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place).

The script keeps the surrounding circumstances deliberately vague and it’s a wise choice. There’s no plodding exposition, largely because there aren’t any supporting characters. We find out only what’s vital to Sam. It’s refreshing to see a sci-fi that’s not about saving the world but more about one man trying to save himself.

Moon isn’t flawless. Occasionally the script throws in a couple of lines that ring a little false but it’s an excellent little science fiction film. It’s also a surprisingly touching sci-fi drama that provides a welcome antidote to the brainless, heartless spectacles that have made up the vast majority of the summer’s entertainment. Moon marks director Duncan Jones as a talent to watch and confirms Rockwell’s place as one of the most underappreciated actors working. On the basis of this he should be given leading roles much more often, and I can’t wait to see what Jones does next.

Moon is out now on DVD and Blu-Ray