A terrific 'throwback' to the more thoughtful sci fi of the '70s and early '80s

Rating: 10/10 (2 July 2009)

Tough to find "Moon" in a theater, but if you are a fan of '70s sci-fi films such as "Silent Running" "Solaris" "Alien" etc then it'll be worth the hunt. I, for one, LOVE those kinds of more thoughtful, meditative sci-fi films that are driven by character and the human condition as much as plot mechanics. This is a delightful return to that era (with a healthy dose of Peter Hyam's early '80s efforts such as "Outland" and "2010" thrown in for good measure).
The plot is very much a Philip K Dick-style of story; a real mind frak. In the near future, helium 3 has become the world's largest renewable energy source and abundant quantities of the resource are located on the moon. A mining corporation sets up a one-man lunar base (run largely by automation) that regularly ships the stuff directly to earth. Sam Rockwell is Sam Bell, the singular miner on the base who, against the judgment of the station's computer Gertie (reminiscent of 2001's "HAL-9000" and voiced ambiguously by Kevin Spacey) retrieves a nearly-dead version of himself in a crashed mining vehicle outside the habitat.
Complications ensue when the truth about his doppelganger threatens to unravel Sam's tenuous grip on reality. Rockwell is incredible as he invests each "Sam Bell" with such different attributes, you'll feel you are genuinely watching TWO actors in different roles. Some may be off-put by the film's seemingly languid pace, but this is deliberate; to feel Sam's anxiety, isolation and loss of self. Also of note, the director is Duncan Jones; the son of David Bowie (singer/performer of both 'Ziggy Stardust' AND 'Major Tom'; VERY appropriate lineage, I must say).
If you miss the 'good old days' of "Outland" "Silent Running" and the like, you'll feel you've come home (which is another theme of the film as well; the urge to go home....as Sam discovers home is where you FEEL, not necessarily where you were born). The film also reminded me of how important establishing mood used to be in science fiction. You could wait for the DVD/Blu-Ray release if you can't find a theater playing it, but that would be a bit of a shame; a lot of the exquisite miniature work (yes; healthy use of miniatures AND CGI) would be somewhat diminished on a smaller screen, as well as the enveloping 'coldness' that a large, darkened theater adds to the lunar landscape.
"Moon" is a challenging, old-fashioned, thoughtful science fiction film (much like another recent throwback; the equally impressive "Gattaca" from 1997) made on a micro budget of just $5 million (Jim Carrey's on-set Starbucks' tab would be higher than that) and it really delivers the goods.
Puts many of the $200 million toy commercials that pass for science fiction films these days to shame!