Moon

This movie flew under the radar for me. One of my friends saw it and said that I liked it, and then they said that it was different and kind of strange. I wonder what that says about me? Well some of my favorite films are ERASERHEAD, NATURAL BORN KILLERS, and ZOO – so I guess I understand what she meant by equating strange film taste to my tastes. I finally rented MOON one evening and gave it a try. The plot follows Sam Rockwell’s character who is stationed on the moon (go figure) and spends his days in isolation mining carbon energy to send back to earth periodically.

Moon Trailer

So these film has a lot of things going for it. First off, the main character is completely isolated from the rest of the world. Isolation is one of my favorite elements utilized in some of my favorite films – THE SHINING, THE THING, ALIEN, and so many others. It allows the characters that precious alone time to have dynamic changes to their personas. So the environment is excellent and the setup works. At the very beginning they explain why Sam’s character is crucial to the continuation of our human race and we jump right in.

The film gave appropriate nods to 2001 and SOLARIS, as it should, and I actually enjoyed the positive demeanor spin they put on Hal. And the final twist was rewarding and fairly intelligent. For such a low budget, under-the-radar production this film really impressed me. Sam Rockwell gives us excellent performances (wink wink), the story works, and it’s extremely interesting to watch Sam interact in this very isolated environment.

Rating: 9/10

RT: 89%