Duncan Jones' Moon (2009)

It's a difficult task to review a movie such as Moon, the first directorial effort from young Duncan Jones (formerly known as Zowie Bowie). The obvious parallels to 2001 aside, Moon is the kind of smart and quiet little film that you never saw coming, but ultimately ends up as one of your favorites of the year, if for no other reason than the sheer inventiveness and audacity of Jones' vision. That being said I must caution that those expecting a mind-bending science fiction tale on par with Kubrick's masterpiece may be disappointed. Moon is a character piece and it never once forgets this.

Sam Rockwell is tasked with carrying the entire film, as the only other human characters appear via video screen. Kevin Spacey lends his voice to GERTY, the Hal-inspired robot companion to Rockwell's Sam Bell. It is an interesting choice, given Spacey's cold and slightly creepy voice, but the film is not interested in replaying the robot gone bad storyline of 2001. Instead, working from Duncan's own original story and a fine screenplay crafted by Nathan Parker, Moon sets out to tell the story of a lone worker on the moon, given a three year contract and tasked with harvesting a newly discovered resource on the moon's surface. When we first meet Sam Bell, he has only three weeks left before his contract is finished and he can finally return to his wife and daughter on earth. Sam begins to get sick and one day, while checking on a distant outpost, makes a discovery which will change everything. To say anything more about the story would be a great disservice to those yet to see the film. Suffice it to say, not all is as it appears on the moon.

Rockwell is utterly fantastic in a role that requires some serious range and I never once grew tired of his constant presence on screen. Supposedly, Jones wrote the story with Rockwell in mind for the lead, and his vision payed off as Rockwell delivers one of the best performances of the year. In a perfect world, Rockwell would be nominated for an Oscar for his work here, but I'm not holding my breath. The other star of the show is the set design. This is not the sterile, clinical environment we saw in 2001, or even Alien. Instead we are shown a moon base which looks real. That is to say, it looks lived in. It's not hard to imagine Sam Bell spending time in his quarters as it looks less like a movie set, and more like a practical imagining of one man's life ... on the moon. The audience is not bashed over the head with overt displays of technological wizardry. The moon base and it's tools are suitably advanced but never overwhelm the story and character work. It must be noted that Moon was filmed with a budget of $5 million, an absolutely microscopic number in this day and age. It is a testament to Jones and his talented crew that the audience is never once sucked out of the experience by a shoddy effects shot or blatant green screening. Instead, they had to get creative with their sets and props, a difficult trick to pull off when your setting is the moon. This creativity is on display throughout Moon, whether it be the set design, acting (you'll see what I mean), cinematography, or the story itself of Jones' directorial debut. A creative, thoughtful science fiction film. Imagine that. 4 out of 5 stars.