Moon (2009) – Review

Space. Movies frequently claim that it’s the final frontier and a place where no one can hear you when you scream, but some of the more haunting films to address that endless, inky black, star spotted void that surrounds us choose to bring up how unbelievably lonely it is. Movies like Spaceman, Solaris and the unfeasibly sad Silent Running have zeroed in on the isolation that floating around in space can cause and how it ultimately can either have us realise our true selves, or utterly dehumanise us to the point of breakdown.
Adding itself to this list of out space existentialism is Duncan Jones’ 2009 feature debut, Moon, that tackles themes of the self in a somewhat different way; but the frustrating thing is if you want to see the film, you’d be better off if you stop reading this review right now. Yep, Moon turns out to be one of those movies that is exponentially better if you watch it while having absolutely no clue what it’s truly about and for me to dance around that early (but devastating) twist would be next to impossible.
Have they gone? Cool. The rest of us can now enjoy two Sam Rockwells for the price of one…

After a global oil crisis wracked the Earth, a plentiful substitute was discovered in the form of helium-3, an alternate fuel source that was discovered on the far side of the moon. It was promptly jumped on by Lunar Industries who built Sarang Station in order to mine this precious resource in an operation that only requires a single member of staff to operate the entire facility and sent new deliveries of helium-3 back to Earth.
This is where we meet Samuel Bell, a blue collar worker who is two weeks away from finishing his three year shift working alone on the moon. While he does have the station’s AI, GERTY, to keep him company, chonic issues with communication with Earth means he can only send or receive pre-recorded messages to both Lunar Industries and his pregnant wife, Tess. However, as his lengthy tenure comes to an end, Sam’s mental state isn’t exactly on an even keel at the moment as he’s experiencing hallucinations that he’s keeping to himself, but when one of these visions causes him to have a rather serious accident while out in his Rover, a rather unsettling series of events unfolds.
After somehow waking up back at the station being watched over by GERTY, Sam seems unhurt, but is confined to quarters until a rescue team arrives for repairs – however, a noticably more volatile Sam than the more chilled out we forst met before the accident, gets suspicious, breaks out of quarantine and goes to examine the Rover he crashed in. However, when arriving he makes something of an Earth shattering discovery – himself. That’s right, still unconscious behind the wheel is a perfect doppelganger of Sam; but what does this mean? Is Sam a clone? Us the other? Are they both Clones? It soon begins to become apparent that Lunar Industries has been pulling some cruelly underhanded shit.

There are more grandiose space adventures out there and their are more intense ones too, but despite its majorly stripped back vibes and minimalist structure, there’s always been something about Moon that’s drawn me in with a strong, gravitational pull. Maybe it was the mournful study of isolation gone awry, maybe it was the existential conundrum of a man suddenly coming face to face with himself at a different time in his life, or maybe it was the fact that I didn’t have a clue about what Moon actually was when I first sat down to watch it – but it just works. From the ad campaign, I wrongly assumed that Duncan Jones’ debut was one of those underplayed movies that simply has a single actor stare into the void both within and without for ninety minutes and as I’m not a massive fan of Solaris (both versions) I sort of wrote it off sight unseen. However, upon finally rectifying my heinous mistake, the movie proved to be something else entirely that utterly wrapped me up within its central conundrum.
While there’s much here to endorse Moon as a more thoughtful slice of sci-fi, the main reason this all works is because of the central performance(s) of Sam Rockwell, an actor that feel curiously that everybody loves and yet somehow has rarely been used to the full extent of his abilities. Well, he certainly gets to shine here and while Moon covers the usual bases of mulling over issues of self and humanity, Rockwell’s understated – but devastating – performance tackles something far more intriguing and pulls at the thread of just how uncomfortable it would be to spend time with a version of yourself that came from a more turbulent time in your life.

The Samuel Bell we first meet has been tempered by his three years living in solitude. He’s mellow, gentle and easy going even if he’s become a little spaced from his space odyssey; however, the new Sam is far more uneven tempered with a noticably short fuse which, we find out, is the reason he’s taken this job in the first place as his rage issues had started to effect his marriage. Watching Bell try to coexist with versions of himself from two completely different emotions standpoints is mesmerising and there’s a very good chance that his could be Rockwell’s finest work as man seemlessly puts on a two-man show with only one person. But as the story goes on and we uncover more about the arrangements Lunar Industries has made to keep these clones in line, the sad existence of Sam Bell’s doppelgangers get ever more tragic when their simple and relatable dream of just going home seems just as remote of their godforsaken location.
Backing up Rockwell’s magnificent performances is Jones’ simple direction that really drives the loneliness home (Home A-Clone, anyone?) and an interesting arc for GERTY, the station’s coffee stained AI who acts like a therapist, talks in the voice of Kevin Spacey and communicates it’s mood with various emojis that flash up on its monitor. The film also has a few things to say about the way big conglomerates tend to abuse their workers into something that almost resembles modern slavery that uses subterfuge, gaslighting and various moral loopholes in order to get the maximum amount of work out of the most brutal of circumstances – something that’s been ingrained in sci-fi practically since its inception.
Some may find the lack of action and slow burn not to their tastes, but even if you don’t approach Moon completely blind, there’s still that central performance to enjoy as the team of Sam’s have to contend with betrayal, mortality and the value of their own half-lives in the face of disinterested capitalism. And if by the end, the resolution to Sam’s story, set to Clint Mansel’s haunting score, doesn’t leave you nursing some overworked tear ducts, then you may be a clone yourself.

Sadly, to date Jones (and his continuing obsession with using “I Am The One And Only” by Chesney Hawkes in his movies) hasn’t yet managed to top his debut film, but on the other hand, the filmmaker started out so strong, to expect so much of him would simply be lunar-cy.
Moon is awesome. Accept no duplicates.
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