Other than my title I am going to try and review Duncan Jones directorial debut Moon (2009) without referencing or debating any of the dozens of Sci-Fi films it pays homage too/rips off. I think Moon is strong enough to deserve a review on its own and I shall give it one.
Apparently in the near future a large percentage of our energy will be harvested from the moon. The work is done by mostly machines but one man needs to be stationed up there for three years to oversee the smoothness of the operation. Sam Bell is that unlucky man and he is played by Sam Rockwell. The basic premise of the film is irrelevant other than to put a man alone, in an isolated position for an inordinate amount of time. Bell's only companion is GERTY, a robot who runs the ship, and is voiced by Kevin Spacey. As the film progresses a possible plot hole involves GERTY's motivations/programing. How does GERTY's actions benefit the company he works for? It could be my expectations of what one thinks a HAL like robot (thats the only one) should be like, but it was one small thing that bothered me.
Where Moon becomes a great Sci-Fi film is in its astute questions and probing of humanity. With Science Fiction what you are ultimately doing is using the unrealistic to magnify the realistic, and in that vein Moon starts asking questions right from the beginning and continues throughout the film. The first major theme it explores is loneliness. We meet up with Sam in the last two weeks of his three year tour of duty. He has already started to go a little crazy, but his spirits are relatively high. The only connection with the earth and his loved ones is through prerecorded conversations sent back and forth. So essentially he has not spoken live with anyone for three years. I began asking myself if I could do that? At what point is loneliness worse than any disease?
Then not to much farther along we have the discovery. Bell finds his own body in the wreckage of a crash that took place. Now the films focus jumps from theme based to plot based. Why are there two Sam Bells? The film smartly doesn't let the question linger to long, as to frustrate the audience. We soon come to find out that the first Sam was meant to have died and this new Sam, a clone, is meant to have taken over for the next three years. We find out that his family, loved ones and life back on earth are just memories implanted in his brain. Then the real hard hitting questions start coming. What is it that makes us human? Memories? Shared past experiences? Are these Sam Bell clones even human? There are hundreds of them. Is it immoral to kill them off, if so, would it have been immoral for the two remaining Sam's to have killed one off to save themselves, the Sam's we as an audience grew attached too? The questions keep coming, and the intrigue behind them keeps us interested.
The ending of Moon felt a bit wasted. Jones had an opportunity to really pull at our heartstrings without being manipulative and couldn't find a way to really make that work. I mean how often do you have one man in a position to save or sacrifice his clone? Instead he sort of passively just lets it work itself out, and the doomed countdown doesn't feel as much of a pressure cooker as it should have.
I have mentioned a few times on this blog about the detriment that first time directors have had on their own work, but here Jones is perfectly suited to take this material and run with it. He does a fabulous job orchestrating what is one of the most minimal movies of the year. Everything about Moon is minimal and Jones is able to keep it engaging and rich. The score by Clint Mansell a guy I have mentioned before as one of my favorite composers (Requiem for a dream, The Fountain) adds another great piece of music to his resume. And all this was done for around 5 million dollars.
Last but not least is the great performance by Sam Rockwell. Rockwell is playing dual roles here and you can tell he is having fun with it. Never are you confused about which clone is which and most importantly he infuses a humanity and personality into each, that lets the audience ask these important questions. Rockwell deserves an Academy Award Nomination for his role in Moon, but unfortunately I know that did not happen.
As you can see I had a lot to say about this film. A better ending and it would have been an easy five star movie.
****
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