A Wonderful Film.

Rating: 10/10 (19 August 2016)

I had the pleasure of seeing Moon on a lazy Wednesday night with high expectations, and I was totally blown out of the water. It's hard to know where to start explaining, but let me start off by saying that this movie has a living, beating heart. If you think that this is just a typical sci-fi movie that is only clever because a twist ending, then you have no idea how wrong you are. This movie leaves behind such a muddle of emotions that it leaves you gaping at the screen. Moon gives such a convincing delivery of the claustrophobia and desperation of being isolated for such a long time, and an even better delivery of the heartbreak of losing everything you've ever known. The sense of accumulating dread Moon delivers leaves you with a roller coaster pit in your stomach. The only other movies that had made me feel this is Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream and the ending to The Mist. This movie is truly, truly heart-wrenching.
Moon is really a one man show, which is really easy to either succeed at or fail miserably. In this case, Sam Rockwell has definitely succeeded by showing the desperation and instability of his character so genuinely. He has his moments, like his heartbreaking video call to his now fifteen-year-old daughter. Also, juggling two personalities at once is pretty difficult but it works flawlessly for Rockwell. His performances are really something to behold and it's a shock he hasn't even been NOMINATED for an Oscar. His co-stars have limited roles but are excellent too.
Another great aspect of Moon is that you could analyze it for hours. Duncan Jones has left in important details here and there which begs for a second view to pick up. Its characters are so three- dimensional as well because he has deliberately gave them nearly two hours of screen time for development. GERTY, the intelligent computer is very interesting to analyze when it turns on its own programming to "help" Sam. Moon doesn't make you stop thinking after its run time, like so many Hollywood movies do. It creates such a thought provoking look on your morals and beliefs that it doesn't let go until weeks after viewing. And if you ask me, that is how a movie should be made.
The fact that it is made on a budget of 5 million is truly impressive. It is a wonder on how they managed to show such beautiful shots and such impressive set pieces on such a shoestring budget. So many sci- fi movies with ten times the budget fall short to deliver such an effective movie and get stuck too far up its own ass (Jupiter Ascending, I'm talking about you). Duncan Jones seems to be a lot more experienced with coordinating movies than all the other veteran directors and I would be looking forward to seeing more films of him in the future.
Moon is an unpretentious and unflinching dive into one man's downward spiral of beliefs. Trust me, it is far from a shallow sci-fi flick which relies completely on visual effects and action to entertain. The difference is that Moon makes you FEEL. It conveys the desperation and gradual loss of hope so effectively that you don't feel like talking to anyone for three days after viewing. That's how draining it is. In fact, after I was done viewing I had called my parents on the phone and asked them how they were doing, which I haven't done in a year. It's easy to criticize and nitpick on the editing, cinematography, plot holes, etc. but you you can't deny that this movie is very well done. Unfortunately words can only say so much, so I dare you to give Moon a viewing. After watching you'll definitely know what I'm talking about.