Director: Duncan Jones
Writers: Duncan Jones, Nathan Parker
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey, Sam Rockwell
I very much enjoy science fiction films that aren’t overtly
science fiction. While the main plot point of the film requires the slightly
futuristic context, it is not really about science fiction or even the moon at
all. When a film like any of the Star Wars movies or Guardians of the Galaxy
present you with a whole host of multi-coloured creatures, it immediately makes
any relation you can have with the characters impossible, which is why in any
of these space operas usually have human (or humanoid) protagonists. Moon takes
space and drops an outstandingly human human into its extra-terrestrial context,
setting it on the mantle aside Interstellar and 2001: A Space Odyssey. It is a
better film for its relatable protagonist.
Earth’s supply of power has drastically diminished in the near future. This forces an energy company to establish an electrical farm on the dark side of the moon. Sam Bell is the lone worker at the station but he accidentally falls into a cascade of situations unravelling just how the station remains so efficient after so many years of constant operation.
I feel it would be an incredible feat for anyone to talk about this film without mentioning the main plot point. So a brief word of warning, if you want to go into this film completely unaware of a minor twist (which I would recommend) stop reading this and watch the film. For those of you who haven’t watched the film and are still reading, clones make up pretty much the entire cast of the film and Sam Rockwell plays ALL OF THEM. Moreover, they often appear in the same shot together (something that often brings about visual issues involving eye lines and a visible split between the two characters). The film is subtended by his performance. Rockwell is able to create different characters even though they are literally the same person. Not only does it require an incredible performance for the different clones to be distinct from one another to the audience, but he also goes beyond and makes the relationship between the characters ever changing and complex. They both seem incredibly human, real and intriguing as they’re standpoint on the situations changes throughout the film.
While this film is great, merely seeing it as a character driven film, it would be misguided to overlook the other themes of the film. Though misguided, I wouldn’t blame someone for doing it. The film opens with some sort of company advertisement like a gritty remake of the admittedly already gritty Wall-E. It seems to be warning of an industrial uprising, ruining individuals’ lives in the pursuit of large-scale renewable energy. I felt that this theme was rather dropped for a long while throughout the film. It doesn’t mean that the film is bad, that would be ludicrous. It just feels to me like wasted potential.
On a more positive note, the film is capped off by a characteristically memorable performance from the disembodied voice of Kevin Spacey. He plays a moving robotic stalactite that beats images of Hal-9000 into your brain relentlessly. The key difference between the two artificial intelligences is that GERTY (Kevin Spacey) seeks only to help the film’s protagonist rather than having ulterior motives. This makes him distinct from his clear inspiration and a character that is just as memorable as the original deadpan interface.
Moon is an unexpectedly colourless film considering David Bowie’s son directed it. You would expect something more akin to an MC Escher paint by numbers than a precursor to Interstellar. It contains an unforgettable and impressive dual character performance from Sam Rockwell but falls short on some of its more extraneous themes, which is a largely affectless omission.
Moon receives an: 8/10
Earth’s supply of power has drastically diminished in the near future. This forces an energy company to establish an electrical farm on the dark side of the moon. Sam Bell is the lone worker at the station but he accidentally falls into a cascade of situations unravelling just how the station remains so efficient after so many years of constant operation.
I feel it would be an incredible feat for anyone to talk about this film without mentioning the main plot point. So a brief word of warning, if you want to go into this film completely unaware of a minor twist (which I would recommend) stop reading this and watch the film. For those of you who haven’t watched the film and are still reading, clones make up pretty much the entire cast of the film and Sam Rockwell plays ALL OF THEM. Moreover, they often appear in the same shot together (something that often brings about visual issues involving eye lines and a visible split between the two characters). The film is subtended by his performance. Rockwell is able to create different characters even though they are literally the same person. Not only does it require an incredible performance for the different clones to be distinct from one another to the audience, but he also goes beyond and makes the relationship between the characters ever changing and complex. They both seem incredibly human, real and intriguing as they’re standpoint on the situations changes throughout the film.
While this film is great, merely seeing it as a character driven film, it would be misguided to overlook the other themes of the film. Though misguided, I wouldn’t blame someone for doing it. The film opens with some sort of company advertisement like a gritty remake of the admittedly already gritty Wall-E. It seems to be warning of an industrial uprising, ruining individuals’ lives in the pursuit of large-scale renewable energy. I felt that this theme was rather dropped for a long while throughout the film. It doesn’t mean that the film is bad, that would be ludicrous. It just feels to me like wasted potential.
On a more positive note, the film is capped off by a characteristically memorable performance from the disembodied voice of Kevin Spacey. He plays a moving robotic stalactite that beats images of Hal-9000 into your brain relentlessly. The key difference between the two artificial intelligences is that GERTY (Kevin Spacey) seeks only to help the film’s protagonist rather than having ulterior motives. This makes him distinct from his clear inspiration and a character that is just as memorable as the original deadpan interface.
Moon is an unexpectedly colourless film considering David Bowie’s son directed it. You would expect something more akin to an MC Escher paint by numbers than a precursor to Interstellar. It contains an unforgettable and impressive dual character performance from Sam Rockwell but falls short on some of its more extraneous themes, which is a largely affectless omission.
Moon receives an: 8/10
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