Review of Moon (2009) by Luis Angel B — 09 Apr 2014

Being a critically acclaimed science fiction film from the creator of Source Code, Moon sounded like an interesting film to check out.

Clearly a very 2001: A Space Odyssey influenced film which also takes themes from Silent Running, Moon manages to draw inspiration from some really good entries into science fiction cinema. It tackles a very complex character driven concept in a science fiction setting so that it fits into the context of being a drama with a very strong visual appeal. Moon has all the great visual effects and set design necessary to be convincing in its location, and it does it all on a budget of a mere $5 million which is impressive. Sometimes if you look really closely you can see the ways that director Duncan Jones manages to pull of such trickery using set design and cinematography techniques, but it is still fairly impressive.

Moon is a memorable science fiction film because it touches upon a theme not covered much in many films of the same genre. The classic 2001: A Space Odyssey was iconic because it posed questions about the mysteries of time and space, and the recent Academy Award winning science fiction film Gravity was iconic simply because it captured the fearful thrill of drifting around in space where nobody can hear you or help you. Moon is iconic simply because of what the protagonist exclaims little over an hour into the film as he sits out on the moon alone and scared. He exclaims "I wanna go home!". Science fiction films have become so commercialised in the heroism of taking a journey that they often forget about how the characters have families and would like to return to them alive one day. Moon removes the commercialised story aspects that many films use for science fiction stories and instead strips it back down to the elements of a small scale drama. On a budget if $5 million, Moon manages to put more thought provoking elements into its story than the $120 million romantic comedy How Do You Know? was able to, and still have a lot left over to create an excellent set design combined with quality visual effects.

Moon has a very simple story to it but touches upon some complex themes of humanity and machinery which comes with its insightful and intelligent screenplay. Riding the strength of Nathan Parker's writing skills and Duncan Jones' fair treatment of the script and the story, Moon comes out as a complex emotional tale which is dramatised excellently thanks to an emotional atmosphere, largely helped by the powerful musical score by Clint Mansell. It is a simple piano beat, but it strikes into the emotional heart of the film with ease.

Although sometimes it feels like Moon doesn't fully take advantage of the complicated high-concept setting it presents, it still does an effective job of telling its story and doing it with passion. Moon is a really thought provoking experience, and it is a testament both to director Duncan Jones' ability to create a complex look at humanity through a science fiction medium and to Sam Rockwell's ability to hold the screen.

Sam Rockwell's lead performance is a complex one, and it is rich with dedicated emotional grit in both his characterisations of protagonists Sam Bell. He manages to incorporate small elements into each character which separate them which is great since a role like his is a very challenging one, and he plays both of them with serious ease and dramatic tension. Sam Rockwell puts dedication into nailing his character from every perspective including his rough line delivery and intense facial gestures which allows him to easily channel his emotions really well and bring them into the tension of the atmosphere nicely. Sam Rockwell holds the screen very well in Moon, and facing an interesting challenge as an actor he tackles the role head on with ease and makes it a successful effort of his. Sam Rockwell is perfect for the lead role in Moon and interacts with the robotic character GERTY and the rest of the science fiction setting with organic acting talent.

And Kevin Spacey's voice acting is excellent because his deep and monotonous voice creates a really artificial sound for the voice of GERTY.

So Moon has some stiff moments and has a consistently slow pace, but the deep and thought provoking character drama within a complex setting which benefits from a strong screenplay handled by Duncan Jones' skill in filmmaking and Sam Rockwell's strong lead performance.