An Impressive Debut for Director Duncan Jones

Rating: 7/10 (30 October 2019)

One of the most notable aspects of Moon is the sense of isolation it conveys right from the opening scene. By doing this, it helps the audience to understand the actions of the main character, Sam Bell.
Sam Rockwell plays Bell in this film, and he is nothing short of magnificent. For almost the entire movie he is the only actor seen on screen. He does a fantastic job of playing two very different versions of the same character. He is unhinged and crazy at times yet always believable and relatable.
The film features another great score from the underrated composer, Clint Mansell. The music reinforces the feeling of isolation for our lonely central character.
Kevin Spacey voices the computer, GERTY, in the film. I was pleasantly surprised to find that GERTY was not merely a HAL 9000 rip-off, as I expected at the beginning of the movie. Its actions were surprising and satisfying.
While the interior sets are terrific, feeling realistic and lived in, it is easy to tell from the exterior scenes on the moon that the film was shot on a low budget. It has a slight artificiality to it, although it can be overlooked.
The film loses some momentum in the second half, as the twist is revealed a little too early in the runtime. However, the narrative is still engaging until the end due to Rockwell's heart-breaking performance.
Overall, it is an excellent debut from Duncan Jones, son of music legend David Bowie. It features a wonderful dual performance from Sam Rockwell along with an excellent musical score.