MOON (2009): Space Odyssey 2010
October 16th 2011 11:05
Category: No Category
Hollywood might consider instituting a fund, where studios are required to pay a penalty for each scarily vacuous piece of high-concept junk released every year, say in the amount of USD 5 million – the budget of this film, as a contribution towards the higher purpose of the medium, currently sorely underused. Trudie Styler might not be available to produce all of them, but that way a newcomer can at least put his or her dream in motion and offer audiences something to contemplate, for a change.
Moon is a refreshing, low-budget science fiction film created the old-fashioned way - with meticulous care. And miniature models. Gosh, we missed those. A gen-X oriented nostalgic throwback to thoughtful existential inquiry and minimal focus on explosions, this indie gem has more in common with Space Odyssey 2001 and Blade Runner than most pre-chewed genre fare Y generation audiences have gotten used to. Hopefully they’ll be able to sit still for the not too long running time of this one – it’s worth it.
The narrative traces the story of one man, Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell, the infamous Zaphod Beeblebrox in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), slowly coming to grips with the confined parameters of his existence. Bell is nearing the end of his 3 year stint on a small isolated station on the moon, overseeing extraction of Helium-3, a new energy source, as Earth’s resources have been exhausted. He misses his wife and daughter, talks to his plants and kills time building small-scale models of his home town. A robot (of course) named GERTY, endowed with the eerily soothing voice of Kevin Spacey, keeps him company and takes care of his needs. Sam’s lacklustre routines get disrupted after an accident whilst in the field. The company sends out a rescue mission, while our protagonist gives new meaning to having constructive (and those less constructive too) conversations with oneself. And boy, does he have a great view. It would be such a shame to spoil it.
Things however, are not what they seem, and we learn that compassion can come from the unlikeliest of places. An original metaphor for soul-searching and a critical appraisal of the values of contemporary culture, Moon is a moving examination of the human quest for understanding one’s purpose and the nature of existence in order to take a stand.
Duncan Jones received a BAFTA, the British Oscar-equivalent for his directorial efforts and is currently working on a new and star-studded sci-fi project, Source Code. It has a bigger budget of course, which hopefully will not ruin the freshly baked director’s standards. Fingers crossed.
Review by Patricia Bieszk
First published @ Suite101.
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