The lonely man on the moon

Rating: 7/10 (13 January 2011)

Sam Bell works on the far side of the moon. He is near the end of a three-year stint manning a mining outpost from which helium-3, a source of clean energy, is sent down to Earth. Sam is all alone. His only companion of sorts is his robot assistant GERTY. Communications problems make live contact with Earth impossible, meaning he and his wife can only send recorded messages back and forth to each other. This is a man who can't wait to get home. It's been three long, lonely years. But just when the finish line is in sight there's an accident. And here things take a very strange turn. Sam is going to have to ask himself some very serious questions as he tries to come to grips with the shocking truth with which he is confronted. What exactly is going on here on the far side of the moon?
This is a movie which requires you to tiptoe around the plot as you attempt to review it. Best to let viewers discover the movie's secrets themselves. What can be said is that Sam Rockwell turns in a rather astounding performance in the role of Sam Bell. It's somewhat clichéd to say an actor has to carry a movie himself but in this case it's absolutely true. When we meet him Sam Bell is all alone, giving Rockwell nobody to play off of other than the computerized voice of Kevin Spacey as GERTY. It's a great challenge for Rockwell. And then comes the movie's big twist and all of a sudden Rockwell's challenge grows much, much greater. It's a performance which you probably can't fully appreciate until you've seen the whole film. Only then can you stop, look back, and understand how difficult this must have been for Rockwell. You'll also have an appreciation for director Duncan Jones who, with a rather meager budget, produced some rather astounding visuals. The effects in this film are very subtle, you don't even really think about or notice them when the movie is playing itself out. Then afterwards you think about it and realize that in this movie filming something as simple as a game of ping-pong is a masterful technical achievement.
If there can be any complaint at all it would be that the story of the lonely man does make for somewhat of a lonely movie. It's a one-man show and as that one man Rockwell is terrific. But with nobody else around there are times where there is really nothing for Sam Bell to do. The film struggles for momentum at times, especially in the beginning. But the story is compelling and very well thought-out. Once it really gets going it will definitely hold your attention. It's not a big, flashy sci-fi movie. It's a personal story, Sam Bell's story. And that's a story you'll find yourself emotionally invested in. This story definitely has a lot of heart to it. It's compelling and more than a little surprising. The direction this movie goes in is certainly not what anyone would have been expecting when we first meet Sam Bell. It's a very unique tale, one performed wonderfully by Rockwell. Give director Jones credit for the very interesting story. And for the impressive visuals. The effects, the moon base set, everything in the movie looks wonderful. Jones created a great little world for Sam Bell but it was going to take a great actor to pull off what the movie required of him. And Sam Rockwell was up to the task. It's Rockwell's movie all the way through and it his brilliance which makes the movie work.