Moon (Film Review)

When I had the opportunity to see Duncan Jones’ feature directorial debut Moon at this year’s Sundance Film Festival I was pleasantly surprised.  Though an indie sci-fi flick, it stands apart from both other science fiction films and more general independent fare for its exploration of the human psyche in the near-total isolation of space. 

 

Moon tells the story of Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), an employee of the mining company Lunar.  As the film opens Sam is nearing the end of a three-year stint to mine helium-3 for energy use back on earth.  Aside from a sentient computer named Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey), Sam is both alone and lonely, which loneliness becomes the dominant theme of the film’s first act.  As we see the station littered with Sam’s pastimes and watch him receive a message from his wife it becomes clear that his isolation has taken a toll on him.  Fortunately, his tenure is set to end and Sam anxiously counts down the days until his return to Earth.

 

As the film progresses, however, Sam becomes aware that things are not quite right.  He notices there are contradictions in his memory, for example, and that he can’t account for everything he sees.  In true sci-fi form Gerty also starts to act a little weird.  Though it would spoil the plot to say much more, it’s worth noting acts two and three follow an oddly externalized conflict of internal, psychological issues.  The results pack some entertaining surprises that affectionately play with typical sci-fi themes.

 

While the creativity with which the film addresses these issues is laudable, Moon also makes the unfortunate move of edging toward a heavy-handed diatribe against big corporations.  Of course, sci-fi has been used effectively for such an end before (Silent Running or even Alien are a good examples), but in the case of Moon that theme seems so much less interesting than earlier ideas about coming face-to-face with one’s own isolation.  Thankfully, Rockwell’s performance makes up much of the difference as the film treads more thematically murky waters, though I couldn’t help but wonder if there were just one too many ideas distracting from an otherwise remarkable story. 

 

Like any good sci-fi film, Moon has a fair dose of impressive visuals.  If the images are perhaps less stunning than recent films like Sunshine or The Fountain, they also seem appropriate for a story more concerned with interior landscapes than outer space.  The expansively dark lunarscapes, as well as the austere interior of the mining station, are sufficient for the genre but don’t call attention to themselves as visuals in those earlier films do.  In any case, the imagery is particularly impressive considering the film was made on a limited five million dollar budget. 

 

Ultimately, Moon isn’t a perfect film and audiences shouldn’t expect the same big themes and sense of awe that often characterize sci-fi.  On the other hand Jones’ direction demonstrates an innovative use of sci-fi conventions.  The filmmakers know their cinematic lineage well enough to embrace it while still saying something interesting.  Though Moon may not go down in the history books with predecessors like 2001: A Space Odyssey, it certainly provides a thought-provoking hour and a half.