Moon

On the surface, the miniature sci-fi flick Moon is a thing of beauty. The imagery sparkles as the camera surveys a barely inhabited lunar base where a lone astronaut named Sam Bell (played by Sam Rockwell) counts down the final days of his three-year term alone on the moon. Outside of Sam's base, a seemingly tireless behemoth of a vehicle shallowly scrapes the lunar floor and leaves a shower of moon rocks in its wake. Sam's mission and the large vehicle's job is to harvest a natural resource known as Helium 3, a substance so spectacular that it has supposedly solved the energy shortage back on Earth. The idea is intriguing and the visuals are glorious, but just like the harvesting vehicle stuck on auto-pilot, this Moon is trapped on the surface.

The beginning of the movie offers lots of promise as we are efficiently introduced to Sam's everyday routine. When he's not collecting canisters of Helium 3 from the harvester, Sam keeps himself entertained by watching episodes of classic television like Bewitched and working on a complex model of a quaint village that would fit in nicely back on Earth. Sam has been going through these same motions for years now and he's itching to leave this place. Giving him further reason to yearn for the comforts of Earth is his wife and daughter waiting for him back home. All of this integral information is communicated with ease and confidence by writer Nathan Parker and director Duncan Jones.

At first, Moon is headed down an extremely promising path. Sam is an interesting character in a unique situation, with enough internal conflict to propel the narrative to engaging heights. But just as the movie is hitting its stride, it veers off course and slowly, uncomfortably, transforms into a soulless mystery tale. The idea is that we are meant to question whether or not Sam is going crazy in his final days on the moon or if he has actually stumbled upon a genuine sci-fi plot twist. The problem is that with every step closer to the mystery, the movie takes a step away from the character-based drama it initially appears to be.

This would not be a such a disappointing decision if the mystery proved to be very engaging or imaginative. But the further into its own head-trip sensibilities that the movie begins to delve, the less satisfying the story becomes. The mystery itself is pretty flimsy, which ultimately damages the movie's internal conflict. As things slowly come into focus, the crucial emotional connection to the protagonist begins to dwindle. Even though the movie is always about Sam, it feels more interested in plugging Sam into mind-bending sci-fi concepts than in giving his journey the emotional resonance it deserves.

But despite my tirade against the movie's shortcomings, Moon still comes out on top, albeit in a more damaged state than I was hoping for. Jones takes visual inspiration from classic science fiction cinema like 2001: A Space Odyssey (my favourite movie of all time) and Alien (another movie I love dearly) and the result is a movie filled with visual delights. The interior of the lunar base is a welcoming white, but the set shines with a convincing amount of wear and tear. Everything about Sam's temporary home feels lived in, which gives the movie a loving sense of authenticity.

Sam even has a robot friend named Gerty to keep him company. Voiced by Kevin Spacey and expressing emotion through a relatively versatile smiley face image, Gerty is this movie's equivalent of (and tribute to) 2001's red-eyed HAL. Spacey gives Gerty a monotone sound that is admittedly calming (just like HAL). Sam's interactions with Gerty are fun and friendly, which lends the movie a few moments of light humour to balance the darker tones of the story.

Moon has its ups and downs, but the real difference maker is Rockwell, who does such a fantastic job of carrying this nearly one-man show that he almost single-handedly earns the movie a positive grade. His performance may occasionally feel like a showy acting exercise, but he does his best to keep his character interesting and worth caring about. As the script abandons the plot's potential in search of a few underwhelming twists, Rockwell demands attention for his heavy-lifting role.

With so many possibilities offered up in the movie's first few minutes, I wish that Moon was a more memorable movie with a stronger emotional core. But putting my complaints aside, it still marks a good debut for filmmaker Duncan Jones and acts as a solid showcase for Rockwell's talent. Overall, I am happy with this trip to the Moon, even if I am stuck on the surface, yearning to peer deeper into the dark below.