Review of Moon (2009) by Ryangee — 27 Sep 2010

The human life is a vessel that at most times is granted by all us. Duncan Jones's Moon is a film that explores this common perception of man in a way that utilizes traces of science fiction and entertainment. Moon tells a story of a quasi astronaut Sam Bell (played by Sam Rockwell) that is under a 3-year contract. Within this written contract, he is succumbed to live in isolation trying to gather energy from the moon, which is utilized in this future world. When the contract is close to termination, the main character faces a dark truth about his overall life. This dark truth is the basis of the film, which leads the audience to question their own life and how sacred it is. Due to the reason that it may reveal the main twists of the film, I can not qualify on why this truth is truly impacting.

Although Moon's exploration of life is the greatest part of the movie, the quality of the movie is above average at most. The plot of the movie moves at a very slow pace. I understand that this movie was made in a very limited budget, but that doesn't excuse the "slow as molasses movement" the movie possesses. Not until the 25 minute mark of the movie is the movie somewhat interesting. So basically, a third of the movie establishes that Sam Bell is a human on the moon that is missing his wife at home. Could that have not been set in stone in a much shorter time? Even when the movie starts to gain its momentum, it still never reaches that greatness that its concept allows it to have. But although it may never reach this point, it reaches a point that forces the audience to think. With plot-twists and moments that enable the mind to think, it is a movie that is undoubtedly thoughtful. This leads me to the other positive aspect of the movie, Sam Rockwell. Sam Rockwell makes this movie shine. Playing a double role in this film really shows the actor's talent. His performance is believable in this alternate-reality environment; in addition to his relationship with Gerty, a robot voiced by Kevin Spacey, which is interesting and leads the audience to believe that he actually possesses a connection with this machine.

Overall, Moon is commendable. If you can overlook its slow pace, there is a movie that is really innovative and thoughtful about man's nature. But be aware, it is not a movie one would watch for pure entertainment, but instead watch it for its true uniqueness.