Man and Machine vs. Man

Rating: Null/10 (17 September 2009)

Of the science-fiction films that have been shoved down our throats this summer, I find it most fitting that the best of the lot is a low-budget import from Britain. Moon is this year's Wall-e. Both films arrived with little expectation and are so much better than their competition that I won't sully them by describing how they are superior. Both appear like others in their genre but offer a surprising and well-executed twist that distinguishes them. Wall-e has a positive outlook following an apocalypse. Moon is more "conventional" science fiction. Dehumanizing loneliness and the tyranny of Big Brother are present but Moon is a 2008 picture. The identity of Big Brother, if you could call it that, has been appropriately altered.
As in many futuristic space films, humanity has established a base on the moon. We are extracting some chemical or another to power our technology at home. I'll be happy when writers think of a new clichéd plot device. Even though Wikipedia does mention the actual name of the chemical and describes its real-world usage, I want another reason for us to be on the moon. Whatever, I'll save my ranting for a review of a poor film. The only person in this base is Sam Bell, who is under a 3 year contract to extract chemicals before he returns to Earth. His only companion is a nearly sentient computer named GERTY, although he receives electronic messages from his wife and infant child. Bell has an accident at work and awakens to find himself hospitalized. Perhaps due to the familiar plot, there is one large plot twist that I cannot ethically reveal.
The duality between Sam (Sam Rockwell) and GERTY (Kevin Spacey) is remarkable. Like other films in which a person communicates with a non-person object, Rockwell is forced to display a wide array of emotions and actually manages to do it. Spacey's voice gives GERTY a contrived innocence that is seemingly sinister but ultimately sympathetic. Sam does not appear to have volunteered for this duty and GERTY doesn't either. Both of them are machines of sorts trapped within celestial prison.
GERTY may not have emotions but is capable of understanding humanity better than we are. His character was the source of scorn when science fiction was in its heyday 60 years ago. What science fiction films criticized then has ceased to be a legitimate threat. GERTY is now a hero, who along with Sam must face new Big Brother: the corporate megalith. Big Brother may not be the correct term. This evil spirit doesn't matter what you do as long as you work. Authoritarianism has evolved into disinterest. In this film, evil is not defeated. It's a bleak feature that fits the times in which we live. The overarching antagonist, like the protagonists, is an extension of us. Moon ignores the pervasive underwriting of generic Del-Ray novels and Doom clones. It is a must-see film in a year of impostor and villainous sci-fi movies.
Note: Moon (2008 film) is unrelated to Moon (2008 video game), despite their similar subject matter and release date.