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#589 - Moon
Duncan Jones, 2009
A lone astronaut tasked with overseeing an extensive resource-mining operation on the moon discovers that he is not alone.
Warning: contains unmarked first-act spoilers.
When I first saw Moon on the festival circuit, I was quite simply blown away. Duncan Jones' low-budget debut takes place in the not-too-distant future where scientists have combated a shortage of energy resources by discovering a potent new fuel source known as "helium-3" on the far side of the moon. To this end, an energy corporation has established a small mining facility there that is populated mainly by automated machines save for a single human overseer named Sam (Sam Rockwell). Sam is only a matter of days away from concluding his three-year contract and returning to Earth to see his family, who can only contact him through a series of pre-recorded video messages (and vice versa). After crashing one of the harvesting machines, Sam wakes up in the infirmary with no recollection of what has happened. He then proceeds to venture outside and discovers a wrecked harvester and inside is...himself. What follows is a slow-burning thriller as the two Sams must try to deal with this bizarre situation and the horrifying implications thereof.
I seem to recall that the first-act reveal was deliberately hidden from reviews I read in the lead-up to watching Moon for the first time, so of course I feel reluctant to spoil it, but hey, you saw the disclaimer up there. Anyway, it's important to mention it because it's an interesting feat to see Rockwell play the same character twice. Though it's an initially disorienting move, the intent is strong enough to make it work and there are plenty of features that distinguish the Sams. A capable actor like Rockwell gets to perform a great one-man show, alternately playing the naive Sam 1 and the skeptical Sam 2. While Rockwell is pretty good at carrying the movie (and he'd have to be), credit also has to go to Kevin Spacey as GERTY, the facility's resident AI whose HAL-like monotone is accentuated by a screen dedicated to showcasing the context-appropriate emoticons. The interplay between Sam and GERTY is great as they cover a considerable range of interactions ranging from casual banter through to suspiciously guarded exchanges and beyond. There are a few other minor characters scattered throughout the film (I still can't help but be distracted by Matt Berry of Darkplace and IT Crowd fame appearing in a small role as one of Sam's bosses) but it is mostly a story that depends on the conflict between Sam 1, Sam 2, GERTY, and even the facility itself as its pristine hallways make it as much of a character (and a threat) as any actual personality.
A second viewing does expose Moon's fundamentally lean nature. Though the premise does naturally invoke some commentary on corporate corruption and the moral quandaries associated with acquiring energy sources, it seems more concerned with toying with questions of identity. The two Sams are made to confront a mutual identity crisis, though Sam 2 is far quicker to accept the obvious situation than Sam 1 is - this does mean that Sam 1's arc forms the central narrative as he learns the truth about what's really going on inside the facility. As such, it becomes much easier to focus on Sam 2 a second time around, though that does mean realising that he doesn't have as much of a journey as Sam 1 - he is also dedicated to finding out the truth, but he has such a head-start that his character's journey is much shorter and ultimately makes him seem flatter. Thankfully, GERTY and the complicated allegiances built into its core programming make for an adequately supportive third party as one is never quite sure how much its actions are working in either Sam 1's interest or Sam 2's or even those of the facility's supposedly-benevolent bosses. Other deep-space tropes are thrown in for good measure such as the existence of delayed communications with Earth and the occasional technical malfunction to keep the story interesting, and the technological side of things definitely results in quite a few poignant moments.
Despite the relatively small budget, Jones and co. make a film that's visually competent enough to not distract from the film's actual storyline. The production design is notable with the sterile facility being decorated with neat little details as evidence of Sam's time there, while the attempts to shoot two separate Rockwells are handled competently enough that even when the film resorts to shots involving Rockwell interacting with body doubles you barely notice because of the way the scenes are paced. Beyond that, the effects work is also extremely solid as it uses some serviceable CGI to render decent-looking exterior shots. The music is largely subdued with a lot of moody piano pieces that appropriately accentuate each of the Sams' loneliness and despair. A second viewing has revealed that Moon isn't quite the mind-blowing masterpiece that I remember it being, but it is still a solid example of low-budget sci-fi that comes up with great writing and performances to compensate for its extremely small scale. It's also a great acting showcase for Rockwell and gives Spacey a role that makes excellent use of his trademark nasal delivery. If you're looking for some sufficiently cerebral sci-fi that doesn't descend into a convoluted mess of illogical developments and has a warm human centre to its coldly mechanical world, then look no further.
Duncan Jones, 2009
A lone astronaut tasked with overseeing an extensive resource-mining operation on the moon discovers that he is not alone.
Warning: contains unmarked first-act spoilers.
When I first saw Moon on the festival circuit, I was quite simply blown away. Duncan Jones' low-budget debut takes place in the not-too-distant future where scientists have combated a shortage of energy resources by discovering a potent new fuel source known as "helium-3" on the far side of the moon. To this end, an energy corporation has established a small mining facility there that is populated mainly by automated machines save for a single human overseer named Sam (Sam Rockwell). Sam is only a matter of days away from concluding his three-year contract and returning to Earth to see his family, who can only contact him through a series of pre-recorded video messages (and vice versa). After crashing one of the harvesting machines, Sam wakes up in the infirmary with no recollection of what has happened. He then proceeds to venture outside and discovers a wrecked harvester and inside is...himself. What follows is a slow-burning thriller as the two Sams must try to deal with this bizarre situation and the horrifying implications thereof.
I seem to recall that the first-act reveal was deliberately hidden from reviews I read in the lead-up to watching Moon for the first time, so of course I feel reluctant to spoil it, but hey, you saw the disclaimer up there. Anyway, it's important to mention it because it's an interesting feat to see Rockwell play the same character twice. Though it's an initially disorienting move, the intent is strong enough to make it work and there are plenty of features that distinguish the Sams. A capable actor like Rockwell gets to perform a great one-man show, alternately playing the naive Sam 1 and the skeptical Sam 2. While Rockwell is pretty good at carrying the movie (and he'd have to be), credit also has to go to Kevin Spacey as GERTY, the facility's resident AI whose HAL-like monotone is accentuated by a screen dedicated to showcasing the context-appropriate emoticons. The interplay between Sam and GERTY is great as they cover a considerable range of interactions ranging from casual banter through to suspiciously guarded exchanges and beyond. There are a few other minor characters scattered throughout the film (I still can't help but be distracted by Matt Berry of Darkplace and IT Crowd fame appearing in a small role as one of Sam's bosses) but it is mostly a story that depends on the conflict between Sam 1, Sam 2, GERTY, and even the facility itself as its pristine hallways make it as much of a character (and a threat) as any actual personality.
A second viewing does expose Moon's fundamentally lean nature. Though the premise does naturally invoke some commentary on corporate corruption and the moral quandaries associated with acquiring energy sources, it seems more concerned with toying with questions of identity. The two Sams are made to confront a mutual identity crisis, though Sam 2 is far quicker to accept the obvious situation than Sam 1 is - this does mean that Sam 1's arc forms the central narrative as he learns the truth about what's really going on inside the facility. As such, it becomes much easier to focus on Sam 2 a second time around, though that does mean realising that he doesn't have as much of a journey as Sam 1 - he is also dedicated to finding out the truth, but he has such a head-start that his character's journey is much shorter and ultimately makes him seem flatter. Thankfully, GERTY and the complicated allegiances built into its core programming make for an adequately supportive third party as one is never quite sure how much its actions are working in either Sam 1's interest or Sam 2's or even those of the facility's supposedly-benevolent bosses. Other deep-space tropes are thrown in for good measure such as the existence of delayed communications with Earth and the occasional technical malfunction to keep the story interesting, and the technological side of things definitely results in quite a few poignant moments.
Despite the relatively small budget, Jones and co. make a film that's visually competent enough to not distract from the film's actual storyline. The production design is notable with the sterile facility being decorated with neat little details as evidence of Sam's time there, while the attempts to shoot two separate Rockwells are handled competently enough that even when the film resorts to shots involving Rockwell interacting with body doubles you barely notice because of the way the scenes are paced. Beyond that, the effects work is also extremely solid as it uses some serviceable CGI to render decent-looking exterior shots. The music is largely subdued with a lot of moody piano pieces that appropriately accentuate each of the Sams' loneliness and despair. A second viewing has revealed that Moon isn't quite the mind-blowing masterpiece that I remember it being, but it is still a solid example of low-budget sci-fi that comes up with great writing and performances to compensate for its extremely small scale. It's also a great acting showcase for Rockwell and gives Spacey a role that makes excellent use of his trademark nasal delivery. If you're looking for some sufficiently cerebral sci-fi that doesn't descend into a convoluted mess of illogical developments and has a warm human centre to its coldly mechanical world, then look no further.