06/12/2015

Moon

    
This is proper sci-fi; an exploration of human nature in a futuristic setting. Brilliantly acted and thoughtfully written, without ever being boring. The only actor to be seen is Sam Rockwell, who plays Sam Bell. I've only seen this guy in a few films, but in everything I've seen him in he's awesome (especially when alongside the also amazing Colin Farrell and Christopher Walken in 'Seven Psychopaths').
The basic premise of the plot is such a major spoiler (Major Spoiler) that I don't think I'll utter it, but it enables the hell out of Rockwell, who performs brilliantly throughout. His world class acting performance is coupled nicely with the well designed sets and the excellent Gerty (who's voiced very well by Kevin Spacey). The sets pay homage to several classics, most notably '2001: A Space Odyssey' with which the plot is also somewhat similar. Many of the shots directly reflect it, the corridors in particular (seeing them again on such crisp new footage was a delight). The suits are also suspiciously similar, as is the general style of filming and architecture.
   
   
Other classics like 'Alien' and 'Silent Running' gets their respective nods, and 'Moon' often feels like a mashup of them all. It succeeds where others fail though (cough-gravity-cough) because it does it without being completely shit. Oh sorry, I coughed there and you might not have caught that. I said 'Gravity'. Because it's complete shit. 'Gravity' is complete shit.
The story is rather somber overall, but manages to pack in a lot of pleasantly subtle humour, as Sam sees how different he was three years ago, and how much he's grown up in that time. It's obviously very sad ultimately though, despite having as happy an ending as is really possible. The tragedy is backed up by an excellent soundtrack (good enough to be one of... about four solely from movies or games that I have on Spotify) and my eyes even felt a little damp by the end.
Gerty is another notable character (and is effectively the only other one). He's more complex than the usual evil robot, and as an AI operates within an interesting set of guidelines. What I liked most about him is that he really is looking out for Sam, and everything he does is ultimately swayed by caring for his friend's safety. Even despite the obvious flaw (once you see the spoiler you'll get it) in his existence, he carries on with all the relentless hopefulness that only an artificial intelligence can have. His simple appearance is both believable, creepy (at times) and (for me) extremely endearing. He can also be swayed by Sam's arguments, which I like, and it lends an important sense of companionship to their relationship.
   
   
One last comparison, and one that I doubt many will have picked up on; the "woo" at the end that Sam gives as he falls to earth is not only in homage to 'Dr Strangelove', but also to 'Dark Star', with which 'Moon' has several similarities, and is under appreciated in it's sci-fi movie importance.
    
Moon: 90.1