Movie Review : Moon

I came by this film while browsing through Netflix. I didn’t see it on any Top 10 lists, and I wonder why; it seems like a film like this should have had more buzz surrounding it. “The Moon” is science fiction and set in a time in the future, when a great source of energy has been found, and we humans are harvesting the moon for it.

Thus it happens that Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is the lone human on a harvesting station on the moon, supervising 3 harvesters which mine the moon for Helium 3. Helium 3 is then shipped to earth where it is used to produce energy through pollution-less fusion. The base is comfortable, well-equipped and almost fully automated, and thus needs very little human supervision. At this point in time, Sam is the only one providing it.

Sam has only GERTY(the voice of Kevin Spacey), the base computer to keep him company. The station is having satellite communication problems, so Sam does not have a direct communication link to earth, but can keep up with his wife Tess, via recorded messages back and forth. Sam has been alone on the moon for almost 3 years, and now with only two more weeks to go, is looking forward to going back to earth to be with his wife and little daughter, Eve. But three years is a long time, and although Sam is in relatively good shape, the loneliness is starting to get to him, and he is starting to see things.

Distracted, and while in the lunar rover, out on a routine service call, he crashes into a harvester, and passes out. When he reawakens he is in the base infirmary being attended to by an anxious GERTY. GERTY is over-protective, citing Sam’s injury, but Sam is suspicious that something is amiss . . .

When Sam started “seeing” stuff, it seemed vaguely familiar, and reminded me of the hallucinations on “Solaris”. Also GERTY the base computer reminded me of HAL from Arthur C. Clark’s Space Odyssey books/films. So, yes while there is some “inspiration” from other SF films about space travel and lunar stations, Moon is a wholly original film. The film gets it’s “feel”, and it is one of dread and impending doom, from the initial setup – the premise that on the entire lunar surface there is one man all alone, separated from earth and the people he loves by many, many miles, and a broken SatCom link. Plus GERTY is a little weird, a little sly; one wonders whether there is some oddity programmed into it’s operating system, and whether he (I tend to think of GERTY as another person) actually is there to “help” Sam, as he puts it.

The film’s storyline is quite unpredictable. Keeping in mind the fact that this film has few characters the director does manage to keep one engrossed, and the pace, although not quite clip-clopping away, is quite alright. There is an inherent weirdness to the atmosphere, and one almost expects “bad things” to happen, knowing full well, that 3 years of alone-time can’t be a good thing.

Compared to the special-effects sci-fi genre that is currently so abundant, and so popular, this is a no-frills film. And while it ponders deeper questions like loneliness, and one’s need of acceptance, family and friends, it does so simply, and by raising questions in your mind. The first sci-film by director Duncan Jones (son of David Bowie), “The Moon” proves that you don’t need hype, hoopla or a bunch of spaceships engaged in perennial warfare, to make a good sci-fi film (although I like those too); good ideas and a strong story will suffice. This was really quite a lovely film – highly recommended.