Moon

Director: Duncan Jones
Writer: Duncan Jones, Nathan Parker
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Kaya Scodelario, Kevin Spacey
Theatrical Release Date: June 13, 2009
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Criticwire: B
On The Web Film Website IMDB Entry

Synopsis: Astronaut Sam Bell has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, where he, working alongside his computer, GERTY, sends back to Earth parcels of a resource that has helped diminish our planet’s power problems.

Round-up: J. Hoberman of The Village Voice embodies the bittersweet mood of most reviews of "Moon": Impressively pulled together on a modest budget, Moon has a strong lead and a valid phil... osophical premise but, despite Bell's fissured psyche, the drama is inert." In his lukewarm review of the film, The Hollywood Reporter's Duane Byrge notes, "Cloned smartly from trusted story forms, "Moon" converges a frontier saga with an escape mechanism." Not able to hold back on references to director Duncan Jones' father David Bowie, Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman admires Jones' direction, "Jones truly puts you on the moon; he does a technically imaginative job befitting the son of the man who fell to earth." Film Journal International's Chris Barsanti also praises Jones, "Jones' ability to craft a thoughtful and emotive piece of science fiction out of little more than a clever concept, a single set, and some not-too-convincing special effects is nothing to be ignored." Karina Longworth's Spout blog review of the film takes the film most seriously, regarding it "as a potential sci-fi game changer."

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indiewire review:

Low Key Sci-Fi: "Moon" Nails Genre's Appeal

EDITOR'S NOTE: This was originally published as a "snapshot review" as part of indieWIRE's coverage of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. MORE »

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Gurv | October 8, 2010Reply

Moon, A Future Classic... The ingenuity and presentation of the Sci-Fi genre coalesces with the masterful character development and intrigue of the drama and mystery genres respectively, in Duncan Jones’s 2009 film, Moon. Reminiscent of former classics, such as Stanley Kubrick’s imaginative and awe-inspiring 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Ridley Scott’s dark and dystopian Blade Runner (1982), and Douglas Trumbull’s introspective Silent Running (1972), Moon builds upon existing concepts, creating a inimitable and innovative experience, ultimately establishing itself as a future classic. Nearing the end of his 3-year stretch overseeing the mining process of Helium 3 on the moon, a valuable source of power in the fictional near future, Sam Bell (played by the talented Sam Rockwell), is anxious to return to his family back on earth. The lone occupant of a lunar base besides his emoticon toting automated assistant GERTY (voiced by the eerie Kevin Spacey and a throwback to HAL 9000), soon finds his plans to return home disrupted by a crashed moon harvester, the loss of live communications, and the questionable discovery of a man much like himself. With a relatively small cast, the burden to drive the movie is predicated on the performance of Sam Rockwell, a burden that he carries well. Without an excessive Hollywood budget, the aesthetic value of Moon matches its compelling story in distinction. Moon centers on powerful and thought provoking ideas such as solitude and insanity; dehumanization and corporate greed; and identity and existence. These ideas, though not new to the world of science fiction and drama, are seldom sown together, and never so skilfully. To be alone in space, to be isolated from your loved ones, to question your own existence, to not know whom to trust, to make great sacrifice, and to seek truth and justice, these concepts alone have encompassed a myriad of films, but Moon ambitiously and eloquently portrays them all. Overall, Moon is a must-see film, and easily the best film of 2009, overtaking the likes of both Avatar and Watchmen in my mind.