Review of 'Moon'

moon.jpg Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is a miner working alone on a station on the far side of the moon. He is coming to the end of his three-year contract with Lunar Industries. With only the station robot for company he starts to see things culminating in an accident where he drives a rover into a mining vehicle. Waking in the infirmary he finds he has been rescued by himself…another Sam Bell. Pretty soon (perhaps predictably) the threads start to unravel about his stint on the moon and his family back on earth.

An interesting looking and feeling film - Certainly lower budget. Some of the moon surface effects are not entirely believable but this can be forgiven with an engaging story and believable acting. It has to be said that the indoor sets are well thought out and very real looking (they were fully built for the film). It is not difficult to believe that Sam has lived there for three years. The interior is gritty and realistic with things obviously well used yet very human. The faces Sam writes in marker on the wall reflecting his mood for each day is particularly telling (and, eerily, harken to the similar faces on the screen of the station robot that change as he talks to Sam).

As for the acting, Sam Rockwell puts on a convincing performance as Sam Bell(s) - Real and full of emotion (particularly his falling apart and disbelief of the situation).

The story is gently paced with only a minimum of action. The ending climax is perhaps not as much of a surprise as it could have been but it is enjoyable nonetheless.

It cannot come as too much of a shock that this was highly acclaimed at the 2009 Sundance Festival.

Rating: “Really good but I have some issues”

Review Date: 2014-09-02


Directed by: Duncan Jones

Studio: Liberty Films UK

Year: 2009

Length: 97 minutes

Genre: Science Fiction

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1182345/