Moon

Moon (2009) is Duncan Jones's directing debut, who decided to write a sci-fi movie solely for actor and friend, Sam Rockwell. The story-line is simple but at the same time intricately complex in the ideas it conjures up. Astronaut, Sam Bell has been working on the moon with the help of computer GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey) to mine a new energy resource which he continually sends back to Earth. His three year contract is nearly up but two weeks before he is to be sent home, there is an accident involving a moon buggy and one of the harvesters. After this shake up, strange things begin to happen and Sam finds himself with a confrontation that leaves him to question his own sanity.

The film represents feelings of claustrophobia, confinement, limitation and insanity. Sam is forced to look at himself through different facets of his personality, becoming aware of just what he is capable of. The movie is contained through its use of essentially, one giant set that was constructed to replicate the exact living space of the astronaut. Also, because of the small budget, only a few special effects are used and most of the scenes which are on the surface of the moon were achieved through models. This gives a weightless feel to objects that would usually contain a lot of density; something that is realistic to the lunar atmosphere. The most credit has to go to the acting of Sam Rockwell, who carries the entire film by himself and manages to show audiences that he is capable of displaying shifts in a person's disposition.

Despite the film being a definite salute in the direction of Stanley Kubrick's Space Odyssey, the movie can still be enjoyed by anyone simply interested in psychological thrillers and the human condition. Personally, I believe the film was successful in being a beautiful yet unnerving look at the stability of one's own character and life. I give it 4 Stars for being a moving masterpiece.