Moon

moon

I found it very appropriate that the first film directed by David Bowie’s son, Duncan Jones, would be a film about being out in space. Even though it takes place in outer space, the movie is much more character driven than a typical science-fiction film that is made these days. There are not a lot of special effects and it really focuses on Sam Rockwell, who is really impressive in the role. That isn’t a shock to me since he’s impressed me since watching him in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.

Sam Rockwell, plays Sam Bell, a man in the near future almost done with a three-year contract on the moon where he is gathering some kind of power source from the moon since the Earth is in an energy crisis. He sends what he mines from the moon back to Earth on rockets. It appears that at some point, he had a live communication link with Earth, but something was damaged so he gets pre-recorded bits from his wife and baby daughter. Jones and Rockwell do a great job showing the isolation that he must be feeling as he goes through his daily routines and gets closer to the end of his contract.

Then, Sam discovers a body out in one of his broken down vehicles on the surface of the moon. That body happens to look just like him. Is he hallucinating or is something more sinister going on? I don’t want to give it away since it is part of the fun of watching the movie. I did love the make-up in this movie since they did a great job making Sam Rockwell look like such crap at the end of his three-year contract compared to him being fresh and new to the mission. When he began, he was so peppy and full of energy while at the end he was so worn down and just wanted to get home to his family.

I enjoyed the little machine, voiced by Kevin Spacey, that Sam converses with while up in space. It is a little play on HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey, except he had little faces to go along with his happiness or concern over Sam. He was also not as scary as I thought he would be when most movies make computers take over since they are evil! He was a nice alternative to what I expected.

It was an atypical science fiction movie that made you think more than be amazed at special effects. It also had some great acting and direction. I recommend it.

Rating: A-

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