Moon (2009)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Duncan Jones

Writers:

Duncan Jones (original story)
Nathan Parker (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 July 2009 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The last place you'd ever expect to find yourself

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Earth | Accident | Contract | Computer | Rescue Team

Awards:

10 wins

Cast

Sam Rockwell	...	Sam Bell
Kevin Spacey	...	GERTY (voice)
Dominique McElligott	...	Tess Bell
Kaya Scodelario	...	Eve
Malcolm Stewart	...	Technician
Robin Chalk	...	Sam Bell Clone
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Matt Berry	...	Overmeyers
Benedict Wong	...	Thompson

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

97 min | USA:97 min (Sundance Film Festival)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:15 | USA:R | Ireland:15A | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Singapore:PG | New Zealand:M | Australia:M | Netherlands:9 | Finland:K-11 | South Korea:12

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Liberty Films UK

Trivia:

Outdoor moon scenes were shot using practical effects (small models). Shooting took place over 8 days according to Cinefex magazine July 2009.

Goofs:

Continuity: Earlier on in the film the table with little town Sam has been working on is destroyed. A few scenes later you see it though in the background back to its normal state.

Quotes:

Sam Bell: You look like a radioactive tampon.

Movie Connections:

References Outland (1981)

Utterly Fantastic and Inspired

Go see this movie! I've been lucky enough to have an opportunity to see this movie down here at SXSW and I am the better for it.

You don't really stumble upon many riveting, independent, sci-fi films that look beautiful(let alone don't contain aliens and space magic) and capture major emotional themes successfully. Moon accomplishes this, and with very little CGI at that.

Sam Bell is an astronaut working for a corporation on the far side of the moon. His job? Maintaining a lunar facility and the automated machines which are harvesting the moon's surface for Helium 3. The harvested material is then sent back to Earth to use as energy.

Sam is on the very last leg of a three year contract and is quite anxious to return to his wife and daughter. Barring any incidents, Sam will be able to leave his solitude. But something does go wrong.

That said, tremendous acting by Sam Rockwell carries this film - mainly because he is basically the only person in the movie. I'm not talking about Cast Away meets the moon… This film explores loneliness much deeper than that, and with much more emotion as well. Luckily for us there are no pieces of sports equipment on which the lead dotes, but instead we're blessed with a monotonous talking robot(voiced by Kevin Spacey) reminiscent of Hal from 2001 notoriety.

I advise that people go see this film, not only to support Duncan, the director, and Sam, but also to explore to possibilities of space and the humanity of loneliness.

Don't go in expecting to find what I have discussed, but go in expecting to find something inside yourself.