Moon

Could this be it? Could this be the point where I become a bigger fan of independent films than mainstream movies? For someone like me, an unabashed fan Hollywood blockbusters, this has been a very confusing year. We’ve had the sheer greatness of Star Trek and Drag Me To Hell, but that’s been outweighed by the disappointments that were Wolverine, Terminator Salvation, Public Enemies, and mostly recently, Bruno. At the moment, the movies that I’m looking forward to the most are indie films (The Hurt Lockerand 500 Days of Summer). So, where did I turn to get the awful taste of Brunoout of my mouth (wow, what a horrible choice of words)? I saw the indie science-fiction drama Moon and I absolutely loved it.

If someone were to pitch a movie to me as “one astronaut on the dark side of moon, whose only company is a robot and there are occasional messages from people on Earth”, I would laugh at them. On the surface, this might be the plot of Moon, but it’s about so much more than the premise. At its heart,Moon is a character study, both of one man and humans in general. The purpose of sci-fi, before it became a way to show massive action scenes using future technology, was to address present time issues through the guise of scientific advances. By having a black check for what science can do, sci-fi movies can ask questions that no other forum can, for fear of being deemed unrealistic. Using that criteria, Moon is sci-fi in its truest form, and it is fantastic. The movie addresses the same ideas as a blockbuster action flick from a few years back, but does it in a much more subtle and interesting way. Rather than tell the audience what the issue is, it is allowed to flow organically out of the characters’ actions and dialogue.

Like I previously mentioned, there is one astronaut on the moon. Anytime you are dealing with a one man show, there is a risk that it’ll fall completely flat. You need an actor who can carry the audience through the entire movie. I don’t know if there is any actor I would have rather have carry out this task then Sam Rockwell. I’ve been a fan of his since Galaxy Quest and have praised him on this site before, but even I was unaware of how great he is. Until this point, he’s played mainly supporting characters. Snow Angels is the exception, but not enough people saw that film. Now, he gets the spotlight, and there’s no one else on stage. I wish I could talk in depth about how amazing his performance is, but to do so would require spoilers and this is a movie that is best going in completely cold (avoid the trailer if you can). If Rockwell doesn’t earn an Oscar nomination for this film, it will be an absolute travesty.

Another person who should be in the Oscar conversation, although he likely won’t garner a nomination, is director Duncan Jones. Jones, in his first feature length film, creates one of the most realistic depictions of space I have ever seen. For only $5 million (for perspective, that’s how much Michael Bay spends on Megan Fox’s lip gloss), he creates amazing sets for the command station and beautiful shots of the lunar rover traversing the moon’s surface. Jones, despite being a shade under 40, is another one of those up-and-coming directors that you are going to be hear about in the years to come. And of course, on the subject of the score, do I have to mention anything more than it’s done by Clint Mansell? It’s not as epicas The Fountain, and it’s mostly subtle, but it’s great at heightening the mood when the movie becomes more emotional.

The pace is a little slow, especially in the beginning, but it’s all deliberately done. Rockwell is alone, except for a robot, so as an audience, when we feel the monotony, we’re feeling what the character does. The connection is created by allowing us to view the character and his patterns, rather than using gimmicks (ala The Diving Bell and the Butterfly). As the story progresses, the pace remains slow, with infusions of character development and plot, and since we are following Rockwell, we learn as he does.

Moon is the best true sci-fi film I’ve seen in quite some time, and really harkens back to the days when movies didn’t always have to be massive spectacles. It has all the elements that make a great movie, both story and entertainment wise, and is just a real treat to watch. Not only is Moon a must-see, it’s a film that will stick with you for days afterwards.