'Moon' (2009) is a film that I've had on my radar for a little while now. I don't really know why, but I think it has a lot to do with me seeing it constantly on my friend's shelf at uni as well as it starring Sam Rockwell who is an actor I enjoy. So at 6:30 this morning (don't ask) I put it on. And gave it a watch. Now, before I get into it I went to mention something about these reviews. I feel like I have got to a point where I am making the reviews all about the technical side of the films and all that stuff that go in to making the film tick or not. While I still feel these details are important to discuss and critique I feel like I have stopped talking about what makes film so great in the first place, how it makes us feel. For some people, hearing about the technical side of the film may be enough to sell it to you, but I think on the whole most people watch films for that emotional response and I feel like that has been lost in these reviews. Well no more I say, I'm going back to the drawing board and give these a fresh coat of paint. Anyway, enough of that. 'Moon' follows astronaut, Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), who is in the final two weeks of his 3 year contract mining the moon which has been discovered to be a great energy source. Feeling lonely and going a little mad, he starts to see things which makes him cross a space rover into one of the mining machines, leaving him for dead. He is saved by someone who he knows very well and it turns into a time of discovery, both good and bad.
If you think that the end of that synopsis is a little ambiguous that is the point. The film does have a twist in it which I am going to try not to spoil here as I think my knowledge of the twist effected my enjoyment of the film somewhat. I will say this though, although a fun twist and one that leads to a fun second half of the film it is twist that has been done before. And that is a large problem with the film, the lack of originality I felt from it. It offers very little new to the sci-fi genre on a technical or visual level, but this does not make it a bad film. Lets start with performances of which there are two of note, Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey. Saying two of note is pushing it a little to far in all honesty, as Spacey plays the voice of GERTY, a robot helper who is on board the space station with Sam. The voice Spacey does is extremely monotone which fits the character, but does mean that its hard to Spacey is brilliant. The character of GERTY comes mostly from a changing emoji face on a monitor which has nothing to do with Spacey. This is very much a Sam Rockwell film and he does a great job. He captures both ends of a personality brilliantly, being able to portray being stable but quick to anger as well as being often bonkers but with a sense of loneliness and constant humanity. It is a difficult performance to pull off especially as he acting with just himself and he does a great job. The film also looks great even if the production design is nothing new and feels a lot like what we have seen in other science fiction films. But just because something has been done before doesn't mean that it is worthless and the film pulls of the sci-fi look very well. The special effects are also solid for the most part. There are a couple of special effects shots in the film which look like they have come straight from the PS2 but they are over in a flash so they don't totally ruin the film.
So the film is well performed and well made but is less than original, even in its twist, but how did I enjoy it as a piece of entertainment, on an emotional level. Well I enjoyed it quite a lot, but maybe not as much as I would of hoped. Again I should mention that I knew the twist going into this film and I think that killed a lot of the suspense that builds up in the first half of the film. There are a few subtle hints throughout the first half of the film that were lost on me because I knew where they were going, they no impact on me as an audience member. Therefore I was just sat there waiting for the twist to happen rather than getting involved in the narrative and the story. That is why I am trying my best not to spoil it (and fingers crossed I haven't) so that if you do watch it you have that emotional response. Another issue I had with the film is that once the twist is revealed it kind of becomes 'well what now'. There is no real endgame for the narrative and by the time that a conclusion does appear it feels kind of rushed. What makes the film work for me is Sam Rockwell. I know I have mentioned his performance already but he is just great to watch and carries the film on his back. Despite the lack of originality and the lack of really strong narrative he shines and is a captivating screen presence. It is a film that I want to return to for his performance alone. It made me laugh and there were moment where I felt truly empathetic for him and that is testament to his performance.
'Moon' is a film that I did enjoy and I feel like I probably didn't put that across all that well in this review. It does have issues and it does lack originality, but the aspects of the film that are not original are executed very well and fit the genre well. It is a very good genre film with a brilliant central performance, it just didn't give me the real visceral or emotional experience needed to push it to be a great film, at least for me. It is definitely worth a watch and again I advise you go in blind. I can imagine the film is a completely different experience not knowing the twist.