Moon, 2009
First and foremost let's have a brief overview of the film. Moon is based in the not too distance future, were an astronaut miner Sam (Sam Rockwell) has been stationed on the moon for the past three years. The earth is slowly running out of energy and now new technology has found that helium on the moon can be used to solve earth's energy problem. And this is where Sam the astronaut miner comes in, his job is to man the machines as they dig for helium which he sends back to earth. Sam is nearly at the end of his contract; and he couldn't be happier. Stationed on the moon for the past 3 years all by himself except for the company of Gerty the robot is incredibly lonely - he misses his wife and his daughter whom he has never really met. But something strange is happening to Sam - he has strange dreams, and hallucinations and he gets severe headaches. This maybe due to the loneliness or maybe something else is going on.
Moon is really based on one shocking revelation which I clearly did not mention in the review. And although I said shocking it really wasn't that shocking or that much of a twist. But that being said I totally didn't see it coming.
Moon was well set up and to be honest it wasn't an overly complicated plot and thus there was really never lingering questions that can be found in other similar sci-fi movies such as Blade Runner or Alien. Although it was strangely reminiscent of Alien probably due to the fact both of them are in space and on a spaceship. But also the clean cut and almost completely white ship gave it a very inhuman feel as if no one really lived there despite it being the home of Sam for nearly three years. The environment is depressing in a sense that it's so boring with no human contact and the closest thing you get to human contact is occasional video messages from loved ones and the robot named Gerty.
The relationship between Gerty and Sam was definitely something that I had not expected, first usually in most sci-fi movies about robots they are bound to turn on you for sure. It is always this conflict between the humans and the robots but interestingly enough in this film it was definitely not the whole robots are going to kill us premise. The film itself is not a commentary of the future of humanity and itself against or with robots but actually possibly questioning the humility of the corporate world in the context of space. The human cost is still second priority at best to the monetary cost. Bottom line before humans. And of course the age old question that have been explored many times before but never seems to tire; what does it mean to be human?
Like I mentioned before there was something in this film felt like it was missing something, like it do not really explore or even really comment on the the possible questions that it definitely raised.
What bothered me about Moon for me I guess was the pace, I guess I don't particularly enjoy slow movies. What usually balances a slow or slower paced movies is its intensity in the plot or the characters. I felt that Moon lacked the intensity. Sam Rockwell plays Sam the astronaut miner was no doubt excellent in this movie and yes he did carry this entire movie. But I guess this movie is more emotional driven rather a high-tensity, edge of your seat drama. Nevertheless Moon was definitely a engaging and emotional movie that deserves a watch.
My Rating: 8/10
Directed by: Duncan Jones
Written by: Duncan Jones & Nathan Parker
Stars: Sam Rockwell & Kevin Spacey
