Critics Corner – “Moon”

Film Outlet	Movie Critic	Rating Given	Review Date
	The Rake	3 / 4 nests	6-3
	Peter Travers	3.5 / 4 stars	6-11
	Owen Gleiberman	B-	6-10
	Roger Ebert	3.5 / 4 stars	6-17
	Critics / Users	C+ / A-	6-19
	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Rating / T-Meter	7.4 / 87%	6-19

Isolation.  Some of us want that.  Everyone needs that at times, especially in a society that prioritizes staying connected at more than any other point in Earth’s history.  With the internet and apps like Facebook, MySpace, or the hot Twitter, the ease and emphasis on “communication” with others is at levels we have never before seen (or needed).  Sometimes it’s so overwhelming that, like the Southwest Airline commercial says, you might “wanna get away.”  What better place to be isolated than on the Moon?  Well, I can think of several, but for this film Moon serves as both the movie’s title and the only location we ever witness.

Sam Bell is on a 3-year contract working alone on a facility in a fixed location on the Moon.  He has his little conveniences to help him, from prepackaged meals or hot water at the push of a button, a moon rover to get out on the moon’s surface for inspections, a miniature exercise area, and best of all, or perhaps worst, an assistant in the form of Gerty, a computer aimed at helping and taking care of Sam, down to providing a flowbee-style haircuts and keeping him laced in the finest fashions a ship of one has to offer.  All the while, Sam plods along, dutifully sending resourceful packages back to Earth which help provide 70% of Earth’s natural power supply.

A pre-trim Sam sees something troubling.

Sam’s solitude might sometimes feel like jail without the gang-rape (maybe more like solitary confinement).  Is he going crazy?  His only contact with Earth is done through video messages sent where he gets to hear from his Lunar Industries employers or see his sensuous wife and daughter as they eagerly await his return in two weeks time.  Rather than give away too much in terms of detail, I’ll only say that when Sam gets in an accident, a strange occurrence takes place that alters the pace, shape, tone and direction of the film.

Moon is directed by first time helmer Duncan Jones, the son of famed music artist David Bowie.  Jones poises himself as one to watch for.  While he wrote the story and not the script, his direction is clearly imaginative as he finds ways to capitalize on the limited shooting location, while at the same time allowing the viewer to marvel at the vastness of space and the moon’s surface.  He also has enough chutzpah to let his sole actor do his thing, allowing for an at times witty and for the most part captivating performance.

It really is virtually entirely a one-man’s show.  Sam Rockwell plays Sam with great verve, hitting all the notes between desperation, difficult acknowledgment, pain, longing, humor and much in between.  He is ultimately the perfect choice for this sort of  role.  It is a highly difficult piece to act in, and one that I think might find him talked about in some fashion comes awards season if the film is fortunate enough to find an audience.

On the other hand, Gerty, voiced by Kevin Spacey, brings near human emotion at times through none other than emoticons on its display screen.  While Gerty speaks in an emotionless, monotonous tone, his LCD display and arm actions lend him to be nearly a full-fledged rounded character.  He brings fear and inspires trust in equal parts, in a surprisingly distinguished performance…for a machine.

A half-pipe would allow for more vert and tricks.

One of my usual gripes with sci-fi is that there is almost a built in allowance for things to not have to add up; its sci-fi so filmmakers often feel that they can get away with anything.  Jones doesn’t take nearly the amount of liberties that I have seen in other films in the genre.  While still very sci-fi, its truly rooted in human emotion, anchored by Rockwell’s powerful performance.  So much so in fact that this may warrant repeat viewings, and this is coming from someone who is not usually a fan of the genre.

When we think of sci-fi, we often think of movies like Star Trek or The Chronicles of Riddick.  However, this is a science-fiction film with a feeling and tone more along the lines of 2002′s underrated Solaris, as Moon deals with the difficulties of human solitude.  The film is a slow moving piece, but there was enough surprise and depth to keep me engaged.  I recommend it for Rockwell’s screen charm, Jones’ visual eye, and a great piano score that adds to the feelings on screen rather than detracts from them.  Still while the Moon might be a fun place to visit, I can’t say that I would ever want to live there.

Duncan Jones, son of David Bowie and director of the upcoming Sam Rockwell-starring Moon, has his next project lined up. This time, it’s a true story titled Escape from the Deep.

The film will be an adaptation from the book by Alex Kershaw, who will also write the script. The true story involves a WWII submarine, USS Tang, which was somehow hit by one of its own torpedos. As the submarine continued to sink, the crew had to swim 180 feet to the surface while continuing to dodge enemy fire.

I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing Moon yet, but will later this week and we’ll have a review for you soon. However, it certainly look s promising and from what I can tell, it appears Jones has a unique visual style to him. He’s apparently helming another science-fiction film before this, titled Mute. I haven’t seen too many submarine-related films, but I know they’re popular and hopefully Jones can continue to deliver on the promise he’s supposedly shown in Moon. You’ll know about our thoughts on Jones and his first project when the review is up.

In the meantime, does this sound like something you might be interested in?

I’ve always enjoyed Sam Rockwell as an actor, as he has an enormous amount of talent.  He’s been on the acting scene for a while, albeit mostly in bit roles as a character actor. Some notable early works would be Galaxy Quest (the greatest film parody of Star Trek) and Glory Daze.  It wasn’t until 1999 that he started to get momentum with a memorable performance as William “Wild Bill” Wharton in The Green Mile. Finally in 2002, he starred in the George Clooney-directed Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, which broke him. He followed it with another great movie in Matchstick Men in 2003. It’s just in the past seven years he’s finally gotten some recognition for his work and he’s had three good movies last year with Frost/Nixon, Choke and Snow Angels. I’m glad to see him headlining Moon, because this one has the potential to be his best.

'Queer Eye' needs to hook him up.

Rockwell plays Sam Bell, an astronaut who is stationed on the moon for a three-year assignment. Bell is a contracted employee for a company named Lunar Industries and his job is to mine for natural gases, which could potentially solve the Earth’s energy problems. While at the Moon-Sarang Mining Base, his only source of companionship at the facility is a robot named Gertie (Kevin Spacey provides the voice). He does, however, keep in regular video contact with his wife, Eve (Dominique McElligott), and their daughter. With just two weeks to go and doing his normal routine at the base, Sam notices one of his computers picking up a life form (I’ll use Star Trek lingo) coming from outside.  He takes his vehicle to investigate and come across another vehicle. He searches through it, only to find an injured astronaut. He returns back to base with the unconscious man and ask Gertie who the individual is. Gertie is unaware of who it is and it leaves Sam confused. He figures the man he found could have been his replacement sent by Lunar. Distraught by the notion, he also begins to notice that the man he found looks a lot like him. Sam goes into a mental tailspin, trying to grapple with reality as he copes with his final two weeks on the moon.

Moon is co-written and directed by Duncan Jones (David Bowie’s son) and this will be his first major film. He has only one short film to his credit, called Whistle. Jones carries story credit, while Nathan Parker, also making his feature debut, wrote the screenplay.

Apparently they did.

Since Rockwell is pretty much the only actor in Moon, a la Tom Hanks in Castaway, it seems like he will get a chance to shine in this. It also has a 2001: A Space Odyssey influence to it, which if done properly can only be a good thing. This will probably be recommended to active audiences who enjoy using their brains. I know not everyone enjoys that.

Moon opens June 12^th.