Truly Astonishing in ALL Aspects

Rating: 10/10 (20 December 2014)

I was intrigued to watch this film for a while, predominantly due to the fact that one of my favourite (and undoubtedly underrated) actors, Sam Rockwell, stars in it. Furthermore, the film is directed by Duncan Jones; who has previously impressed me with 'Source Code' and has since left me wanting to explore more of his work. Essentially, I went into this film with high expectations, and oh boy, were they exceeded.
'Moon' takes place on the moon, surprisingly, and explores the isolated character of Sam Bell (played by Sam Rockwell) nearing the end of his three-year stint on the moon, whilst working alongside his friendly computer GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey). I'm not going to give away any more details of the plot, as with all films, it's best to go in blind or with as little information as possible in order to simply 'experience' the story unfold. This film most definitely deserves that approach, it captures isolation and human emotion on a genuinely profound level, and Rockwell's riveting performance is undoubtedly an Oscar-worthy one. Even Spacey's voice acting as GERTY is strangely satisfying to me; evoking this calming yet intriguing tone throughout the film which additionally helped to stabilise the drama, combined with Sam Rockwell's truly magnificent acting preventing this film from falling into a feeble melodrama.
Everything works perfectly here: the cleverly written script, the visually pleasing set design and even the slightly slow pacing which I didn't see as a flaw whatsoever. The pacing was perfect in this film; it made it feel all the more real and thus enticing, along with a captivating soundtrack to create an utterly fascinating atmosphere throughout. This film is without a doubt, truly astonishing in all aspects, and certainly exceeded my already high expectations. Duncan Jones' direction and Sam Rockwell's amazing performance (he absolutely deserves all of the praise) combined with a compelling plot result in a masterpiece of a film that doesn't shy away from exploring human emotion and struggles on a deeper level, whilst delving into two of the trickiest genres to pull off. I highly recommend this film to anyone who appreciates good cinema, not just the fans of Sci-Fi.