Moon Review

Posted by Erik Luers on 07.16.2009

In space, no one can hear you cry......

Matt Berry ... Overmeyers
Robin Chalk ... Sam
Dominique McElligott ... Tess Bell
Sam Rockwell ... Sam Bell
Kaya Scodelario ... Eve Bell
Kevin Spacey ... GERTY (voice)
Malcolm Stewart ... The Technician
Benedict Wong ... Thompson









Hear ye, hear ye! Duncan Jones has arrived and has unleashed his debut feature, Moon, upon the cinema going world in good spirits. How lucky we all are. What we have is a science fiction film that takes place on the moon, one of the more intriguing locations in the genre, and focuses on a solemn human being, alone and tired, by the name of Sam Bell. He is finishing up on a three year contract that has required him to live and function on this ominous satellite in solitude. He has no one to talk to but GERTY (the operator of the craft), a machine with a dry and cold, monotonous voice. Bell has nothing to entertain himself with but 1970s television shows, a rec room, and wooden miniature models of the town in which he used to live. He has left behind a wife and daughter on Earth, but contacts them through a video messaging system not unlike email; he is not allowed any live conversation with anyone back home. He is alone.

He is also, if you would dare humor the comparison, the human version of Wall-E, with not a cockroach but a talking programmed machine to keep him company. He has visions, very bizarre, perverse, frightening visions. He dreams about making love to his wife. He runs on the treadmill to pass the time. And one day, out there on the vast land he thought he knew, he comes across a body. It is breathing. It is alive. It is, most frighteningly, an exact replica of himself. And then things start to get really weird. Moon is an excellent Rod Serling like mystery that has a lot to say about who we are and what we do. Duncan Jones does it masterfully.

Where to begin? Moon is a film which deals with a lot of complex ideas on a broad canvas, and yet what I enjoyed most about it was its constant level of intimacy. We get to know one actor very well. He is Sam Rockwell (amazing in last year’s criminally underrated minimalist drama, Snow Angels), by far one of the best film actors working today. What a unique and exciting acting challenge Mr. Rockwell has before him. The Sam we are introduced to is slowly losing touch with reality, slipping away from the assumed sane life he had back on Earth. It’s quite remarkable how he's been able to sustain a level head for the past three years (through it all, alone and tired, he maintains good hygiene). Duncan Jones gives Rockwell a lot of little independent actives to partake in, and the performance is always active and lively. Sam has worked himself into a very militant routine holding down his fort, and we see him go through the various motions of doing his job efficiently. He gets lost in his work in order to remain sane.

And yet, when we, the viewers, arrive, Sam looks to have come down with a severe case of cabin fever. What’s with the vision of another version of himself, in full astronaut gear, emerging from his bed and trying to drag him into a dark and bottomless pit? Must be a hallucination. But then we see an image of what appears to be a female figure out there in the distance as Sam surveys the outside craters. We do not get a good enough view to decipher what the shape could possibly be, but we know that Sam sees something. He isn’t alone, is he? If not, why has it taken three years for him to make this groundbreaking discovery?

I dare not delve any further into the plot. There are a lot of twists and turns that emerge out of Sam’s eerie predicament, but none feel like cheap plot devices. Little hints and clues are sprinkled sporadically throughout that unfold like a puzzle (why does GERTY appear to be conferencing with people on Earth when live feed is supposedly impossible in space?). The film is based around a mystery low on suspense but high on intrigue. When Sam comes in contact with another man, identical in appearance, claiming to be Sam Bell, even more questions are asked. Is this “new” Sam real or is our lead character just imaging him? Oh, and how can he physically touch this “other”? In one scene, the two men brawl viciously, with fists flying all over the place. The new Sam helps wreck the room, crashing into counters, chairs, and all sorts of items, so he must be real flesh and blood, right? And how could they be sharing identical memories?

Now before one has the chance to run to their film studies textbook and drudge up the term “doppelganger”, Duncan Jones slowly starts to reveal the story’s intricate secrets. Sam finds a hidden room that provides a lot of meaningful answers (as hidden rooms in movies usually seem to do), and he makes a shocking discovery. Quickly, Clint Mansell’s score turns to a nurturing, almost childlike tonation, as if to evoke a sense of budding newborns in an incubator. A secret is revealed. Normally, I’d groan at the information given out in this scene, but here the turn of events proves palpable. Jones realizes that a plot twist is only effective when it’s backed up by previous provided evidence — the twist does not conclude the story, but rather enhances the story's conclusion.

I am unsure of how much this picture cost to make, but I sure am curious. The special effects are nothing special (they appear a little on the cheap side), and that may disappoint some hoping to get the next state of the art ILM show extravaganza. Here's the thing though. The special effects are there to serve the story, not overcome it. We understand that the film takes place on the moon, and so, when we see it, we accept it for what it is. Duncan Jones does not rely on computer imagery to tell this story, and we do not rely on computer imagery to follow it.

I've realized that if a film takes place in space, everyone wants to know how good the special effects are, and if they're reading a science fiction novel, they just want to know about the story. Here, the story is first rate and the special effects, merely adequate. That worked just fine for Ridley Scott's Blade Runner some twenty-seven years ago, and it does so here. When we get to see Earth from our location on the moon, it is a real breathtaking moment, not only for the visual but for the idea of being so far (and yet so close) to home. On the eve of the fortieth anniversary of Neil Armstrong's historical steps, Moon reinforces the awe of our solar system.

Some have drawn comparisons between Duncan Jones' film and Stanley Kubrick's 1968 epic masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyessy. Is Hal 9000 any different than our GERTY? I feel that there are similarities and subtle differences. Sure, Hal and GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey in an inspired casting choice) talk in very monotone speaking voices, and yes, they both know more than they initially let on; they also get jealous and territorial pretty easily. There is one major difference however. GERTY has a face, and with it, facial expressions. Its face is nothing more than one of those yellow smiley faces that once was popular on pins and buttons (and was recently thrust back into the spotlight thanks to Zack Snyder's Watchmen). It is shown on a computer screen and it expresses happiness (smiles) and sadness (tears/frowns) depending on the situation at hand. GERTY has only a few expressions but they are enough to humanize and distinguish it from the blank Hal. Both represent technology's control over the human race, but Kubrick and Jones take their own separate routes to make this point.

Everyone will be at least somewhat intrigued by the concept for Moon, and most will leave very satisfied and content. The ending, although humorous, comes a little too abruptly for my tastes, but by then I had felt very satisfied. The final shot indicates that a groundbreaking change is on the horizon and I would've liked to have seen where that went. Though on the other hand, I'm sure I would've been greatly disappointed by my own expectations. Jones knows just where to end his film, on the belief that change will eventually come, and oh what a commotion it will cause. This is the man's feature film debut and it feels like he has been at it for years. Bravo.

The 411: Moon is yet another summer surprise in a summer where I thought we wouldn't have many surprises. Try saying that three times fast. With acute writing, skilled (yet modest) direction, and one heck of a star turn from the ever surprising and versatile Sam Rockwell, Moon is a real joy. It's a small chamber film that is intimate and involving. It is a little bleak without being void of optimism. Ladies and gentleman, remember the name of Duncan Jones. Moon is something special.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]