Film Review: Moon

Moon
Directed by Duncan Jones
Released June 12, 2009

Previews made “Moon” look like classic sci-fi films like “Alien” and recent releases like “Sunshine,” where a crew in deep space in the future encounters unexpected phenomena as they travel further and further away from civilization. The hook with “Moon” is that astronaut Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is out there on his own, mining the moon for resources that help provide the Earth with unlimited power. He’s accompanied by computer Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey), who provides him with assistance, guidance, companionship, and even smiley faces via a small television screen. Bell’s three-year solo mission is almost up, and just as he’s ready to go home, he begins questioning exactly what’s going on up on the moon. The mystery is quickly solved, and while it presents an intriguing moral thesis, it should be more complex. It’s not that science fiction should be difficult to comprehend, it’s just that the story doesn’t have much to do it. It’s regrettably simplistic, and so much more could have been explored beyond simply posing a question about how one man can and should operate while disconnected from civilization. Rockwell is an able actor whose initial bickering nature is obnoxious, but over the course of the film becomes sympathetic. Spacey has an incredible voice perfectly matched to that of the ship’s computer, and it would have been nice to have seen him do more. The musical cues front master composer Clint Mansell help to propel the film along as its main driving force. “Moon” is an interesting diving-off point, but there’s nothing much to analyze in terms of actual occurrences in the film. It suffers from a severe case of not needing to go anywhere quickly – because after all, in space, what’s the rush?

C+