a SIFF 2009 review
Mesmerizing Moon Achieves Liftoff
Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is alone. He is at the end of a three-year mission on the moon mining ore that helps feed the Earth’s energy needs, his only companion a slow-moving, well-meaning robot nicknamed GERTY (Kevin Spacey) whose only job is to make sure he stays safe.
Sam Rockwell in Sony Pictures Classics' Moon
After an accident involving one of the mining vehicles, Sam awakens back in the sickbay trying to figure out what the heck happened to him. Told to remain inside until he feels better, the astronaut disobeys and journeys out to do an inspection, returning to base having made a startling discovery.
Combining elements of 2001, Silent Running, Outland and Gattaca, filmmaker Duncan Jones’ debut effort Moon is an invigorating piece of existential science fiction that’s both compelling and thought-provoking. Moving at its own leisure yet suspenseful pace, the movie is a mediation on what it means to be human, the central themes familiar yet intoxicating all at the same time.
Do not expect surprises. As much as I’ve gone out of my way to hide the central focus of the narrative, it isn’t too difficult to figure out what is going on. Rockwell portrays Sam at two distinctly different points in his timeline, each man three years removed from the other.
The hook is that he is playing them in the same scene, a bizarre sequence of events bringing them together to unravel a corporate mystery that puts them both in jeopardy. Why are their two Sams? Is one of the duo hallucinating? Is the robot somehow involved? These questions and others aren’t difficult to decipher, and to say more would ruin any chance whatsoever the narrative might have to keep you wondering what is going on.
Despite the fact Jones’ screenplay isn’t quite as ambitious and as mysterious as maybe he thinks it is, Moon is still sensational entertainment. Echoing the best of 1970’s and early 1980’s science fiction, the film has a pulsating energy that’s magnetic, and the more I tried to look away the harder I found myself becoming involved in what was going on. The direction here is more or less superb, and for the life of me there isn’t a single misstep or false moment anywhere to be found.
It helps immensely that this is one of the most beautifully shot and designed motion pictures I’ve sent this year. Obviously working on a minimal budget, less certainly becomes more in the hands of cinematographer Gary Shaw (Space Chase) and production designer Tony Noble (Whoops Apocalypse). The camera glides through the white hallways with disquieting grace, and the longer the two Sams wander around the more their environs begin to look like a prison sanitarium than they do a corporate outpost.
As for Rockwell, is there are more versatile, and more highly underrated, actor working today? The man is a revelation, crafting two distinctly different performances that are years-apart reflection of a single human being. Both men are Sam yet both are coming at their problems from decidedly differing points of view, the impetuousness of youth allowing for exploration while the reassurance of experience grants insight into discovering a solution.
I’ll say it right now, it is doubtful there will be a better performance given by an actor this year. Just as clearly, however, much like Jeremy Irons was not given the recognition her deserved for his virtuoso work in David Cronenberg’s Dead Ringers it is highly doubtful anyone other than genre enthusiasts and a handful of critics will give Rockwell the kudos he richly deserves. Pity, because he’s long overdue for them, acting this consistent and multifarious something no one should take for granted.
I knew where Moon was going and how it was going to end, only so many outs given the story Jones set out to tell. And yet, I didn’t care that I had the climax pegged and I wasn’t bothered that the surprises were pretty much kept to a minimum. The film clicks, both as an intellectual exercise and as a rousing piece of pop sci-fi entertainment. Thanks to the Rockwell, it goes so far as to achieve full-blown liftoff, the pleasure I felt when it concluded one of deep invigorating contentment I couldn’t help but take comfort in.
Film Rating: êêê (out of 4)
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