Sci-fi with humour and heart.

Rating: 8/10 (10 September 2017)

It's a year of the future in which mankind actually draws an energy source from the moon. Currently they have a person stationed alone on the lunar surface: astronaut Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell). His companion is a robotic intelligence named "Gerty", voiced by Kevin Spacey. He tries his best to keep his sanity, while his three year tour is just about over. One day, a vehicular accident leads Sam to make some stunning discoveries. He's not really so alone.
"Moon" marks an interesting, and emotionally involving, filmmaking effort for story author / director Duncan Jones (the son of music legend David Bowie), screenwriter Nathan Parker, and others. It tells a small scale story, and a rather intimate one, with Rockwell often the only human performer seen on screen. It's quiet, and thoughtful; it doesn't indulge in action set pieces or anything to do with aliens. It deals with issues of paranoia, human identity, loneliness, and an individuals' right to exist. Overall, it's quite satisfying, with top notch visuals functioning as icing on the cake. The music score by Clint Mansell is quite wonderful. Without spoiling too much, this viewer will say that he greatly appreciated the various twists in the plot.
Rockwell remains a very watchable and valuable actor, and he is one of the greatest assets that this film can boast. If you're going to have your story basically focus on one person, you need an actor who can fully engage the audiences' sympathies, and Rockwell succeeds admirably.
If you're a sci-fi fan, and want to see something that doesn't involve alien invasions or space battles or the like, this one comes highly recommended.
Eight out of 10.