Reviewed by Craig McPherson
Stars Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey (voice), Matt Berry, Robin Chalk, Dominique McElligott,
Kaya Scodelario, Malcolm Stewart, Benedict Wong | Written by Duncan Jones & Nathan Parker
UK certification 15 | UK RRP £24.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 97 minutes | Directed by Duncan Jones
While book racks are brimming with thought provoking, high-concept science fiction, the movie genre tends to be populated by invading aliens, intergalactic wars and adventure, which makes director and co-writer Duncan Jones’ Moon that much more of an oddity.
Not since Steven Soderbergh’s much overlooked 2002 rendition of Stanislaw Lem’s Solaris has a movie firmly rooted in the sci-fi realm delivered reflections on the human condition, which Moon does deftly. It tells the story of Sam Bell (Rockwell), the only inhabitant of an automated lunar mining base extracting Helium-3 from lunar rocks to be shipped back to Earth to fuel the energy starved planet. Sam’s isolated three-year posting is about to come to an end and he longs to return to Earth to see his wife. His only company throughout this sojourn has been that of Gerty, the base’s HAL-like robot (voiced by Spacey). Unfortunately, the final weeks and days are proving to be the most difficult, and Sam finds himself going a bit squirrelly, leaving both he and the audience to wonder if what’s unfolding is actually happening, or merely a drama taking place in his addled mind.
That’s about as much plot detail as I’m going to deliver, for to delve any deeper into the story would give too much away. Be prepared, however, for a thought provoking narrative that touches on issues such as scientific ethics, corporate greed, human identity and compassion. There are no aliens, lasers/phasers, wormholes, warp engines or jump drives here, just a lonely space age concierge, an unflappable monotone robot, and a whole lot of fodder for your brain to chow down on. This is what science fiction was meant to be.
EXTRAS **** There's a pretty decent collection of bonus material here, kicking off with two aundio commentaries – the first with writer/director Jones, director of photography Gary Shaw, concept designer Gavin Rothery and production designer Tony Noble; and the second with Jones and producer Stuart Fenegan. Then you get Whistle, a 28-minute short film by Jones; the 16-minute The Making Of Moon featurette; the 11-minute Creating the Visual Effects featurette; the Science Centre Q&A with Jones, which was filmed after a screening at the Space Centre in Houston; and a Filmmakers Q&A at the Sundance Film Festival; and some trailers. There's also, according to the SOny press release, supposed to be an Easter Egg of GERTY playing table tennis, but it appears to be impossibleto find.