They Don't Make 'Em Like This Anymore

Rating: 8/10 (8 July 2009)

Moon is a surprise for the Summer of 2009 which has already included a 3D Ice Age, a second Transformers and pretty much a never-ending series of underwhelming, boring movies. Bearing more similarity to the bigger, gaudier Star Trek, Moon is the rare movie that makes you think. Unfortunately, you will find yourself, occasionally, outsmarting the filmmakers and their choices. But man oh man, does this movie ever have about 80% pure cinematic and narrative genius. Though the trailer spoils many of the film's surprises, you'll still find yourself, hopefully, sitting in a theater watching this tightly crafted, contained yet unclaustrophobic thriller to the satisfyingly upbeat ending.
But it's main missteps, in my humble opine, were it's confused half-step toward gritty realism AND white-washed futurism. The moonbase of the film is both believably grungy but unnecessarily futuristicky, like the set-designer really battled for some whammo props and sets while the director fought to dress everything down a notch. If you come looking for an Alien-esquire truly working-class worksite, you're half there. Unfortunately, many of the architectural embellishments in the base are also inspired by the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars. So the result is a bit muddled.
Secondly, the trailer is a bit of a tease in that it promises a smarter, more psychologically compelling story than it can deliver. I wanted more isolation, agony and dread - what I got was a too-neat reveal of the conspiracy of Sam Rockwell's bosses, but then the movie pulled back again, like it didn't want to give away too much (even though it already had.) Again, it felt like somebody (the writer or director or somebody) didn't want to make a choice and left the film feeling a bit muddled.
But that brings me to the film's saving grace. Sam Rockwell. He MUST WIN the Oscar this year for this is a truly mesmerizing feat of acting. All these criticisms, these problems I have with the film, they can only be considered after watching because I was completely on-board due to Sam's total commitment to the characters (eeh, spoiler!) he created. How any Oscar voter could miss this as the best performance of the year (so far) is beyond me.