‘Moon’ is the debut feature for writer/director Duncan Jones, who would probably like to be known in his own right rather than as the son of David Bowie. He has certainly earned his own notoriety with this stunning sci-fi – a wonderfully unique, character-driven story set on the dark side of the moon.
Sam Rockwell (Frost/Nixon, Choke) gives a lovely, understated portrayal of Sam Bell, a contractor harvesting Helium 3 to supply the world’s energy needs. Nearing the end of his three-year stint with only GERTY the computer for company (voiced perfectly by Kevin Spacey), Bell begins to question both his identity and his sanity as life on the base becomes a little less ordinary.
Rockwell again proves his versatility in this convincing performance that has us empathising both with his exhaustingly lonely situation and his existential dilemmas. It’s difficult to explain the details of Rockwell’s achievement in this film without any spoilers, so suffice to say he’s a delight to watch. And Spacey provides a great sounding board, allowing depth and interest for a minimalist cast.
As with most genres, originality is scarce in sci-fi these days. Accordingly, there are many elements of ‘Moon’ with which the sci-fi fan will be very familiar. Jones however takes these elements and, more importantly our expectations of them, shakes them up, turns them inside out and rearranges them in a way that is completely unexpected, and wonderfully effective. After watching the trailer, armed with my knowledge of sci-fi canon, I thought I knew what I was in for with ‘Moon’. I couldn’t have been further from the truth, nor more delighted by it.
Filmed in just 33 days during the writers strike, Jones has said that he was able to use top-class effects people on the crew because of the lull. Given the recent trend of did-he-film-that-on-his-mobile-phone? digital effects, it’s great to see something with solid production values, especially important when there’s not a lot going on. Yet they’re downplayed, and serve to support the story rather than overwhelm it. I can’t wait to see what Jones does next – said to be another sci-fi, but more akin to ‘Blade Runner’ – hopefully this is the start of a refreshingly original, passionate contribution to modern cinema.
‘Moon’ has just shown at the Melbourne International Film Festival, and is slated for general release in October.
I had to look up his name on IMDb – Sam Rockwell was in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind! Sweet.
This sounds pretty interesting, looking forward to hearing more about it.
Yeah really keen for this. Good to see classy, atmospheric sci-fi back!