Moon Review
Moon is a bit of a space oddity in this climate of brash big-budgeted blockbusters. Its a mesmerizing, slow burning, modest sci-fi drama that marks the imposing and thought-provoking debut of its 38-year-old director Duncan Jones. Judging from the intergalactic intrigue it shouldnt come as much of a surprise to learn that Jones is the son of singer extraordinaire David Bowie, aka Ziggy Stardust and The Man Who Fell to Earth. Gearing up for metaphysical excursions Moon commences with the mundane mining duties of isolated and lonely astronaut Sam (Sam Rockwell), who, with only his smiley monitor-faced computer, Gerty, (Kevin Spacey, vocals soothingly synthesized) for company, is coming toward the end of his lonely three-year stint on the titular satellite. Events take a surreal turn after he hallucinates, crashes his moon buggy and wakes up in the infirmary to be told by Gerty that he has been unconscious for several days. Venturing back to the scene of the incident he is surprised to discover his injured self still inside the discarded vehicle. Later back at base attempts to engage with his apparent doppelganger are met with animosity. Jones orchestrates a sedated, intriguing narrative flow that manages the extraordinary feat of feeling far lengthier than its tight 97 minutes would suggest. What most impresses, however, is Rockwell, in dual roles, that flawlessly reflect the inner turmoil of an unhinged individual etching toward insanity. He is never less than engaging to watch, his heart-rending alienation fully encapsulating the morbid cabin fever circumstances of being marooned inside a moon base, where the atmosphere is tangibly bleak and subdued - the functional aesthetics threatening to evoke claustrophobic consequences. There are some stocky themes addressed concerning the limitations of mankind and what it is to be human, but these never feel weighty or contrived. It is to Jones inventive credit that our concentration levels are, for the most part, never allowed to drift off, instead we are transfixed as events unfold into levels of chaotic existential extremes. A small but powerful triumph, Moon harks nostalgically back to the days of model miniatures and carefully orchestrated silences. The likes of Solaris and 2001: A Space Odyssey are evoked in approach and philosophical thought, but at times Moon could do with a little less pondering and a bit more of a kinetic thrust. For the complacent however this is an essential and rewarding watch.