It’s a staple of the science-fiction genre: the robot who wants to learn how to feel. The sci-fi genre on the whole is going in the opposite direction, apparently determined to become progressively more emotionless. Modern sci-fi – it’s too easy to lay into the cyborg’s cyborg Michael Bay here – has become a vehicle for cold visual pyrotechnics, large-scale robot orgies and a movie-going experience as dizzying but empty as a theme park thrill-ride.
There are exceptions, thankfully. Most recently,
District 9 touched on issues of empathy and humanity while still giving us the visceral joy of watching a mech-warrior blow the bejeezus out of everything. Now there’s
Moon, from first-time feature director Duncan Jones, an ‘indie sci-fi’ flick that feels equal parts ‘indie’ and ‘sci-fi’.
Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) has been stationed alone on the far side of the moon for almost three years, overseeing the mining of Helium-3, now the Earth’s primary source of energy. His only company in all this time, aside from the plants he tends and talks to, has been the computer ‘Gerty’ (voice of Kevin Spacey), who seems to have only the best of intentions for Sam and the mission.
Fortunately for Sam, he’s coming to the end of his stint for Lunar Industries, and will soon be reunited with his wife and daughter back home, with whom he’s only been able to communicate via taped messages. But after a near-fatal accident in a lunar rover, Sam wakes up in the infirmary – and something is not quite right.
It would deprive of you of some pleasure to give too much more away of the story. Nathan Parker’s screenplay turns what could have been confusing structural twists and quirks of the film to part of the beauty of it. Suffice it to say that, in contrast to most sci-fi smeared across our screens now,
Moon gives its lead actor something to chew on, and Rockwell makes the most of a challenging role or two (“Rock’n’roll,” he chimes, a weary echo of his last interstellar role as Zaphod Beeblebrox). The design of the lunar base owes a lot to the golden age of sci-fi, with a big tip of the space helmet to Kubrick, and Spacey’s icy tones, of course, are perfect for ‘Gerty’, who is himself a great new twist on HAL – with MSN emoticon facial expressions.
There’s a familiar cinematic device in
Moon, and Jones pulls it off with skill and flair. Aside from a rather show-offy tennis table sequence that would probably have been a logistical nightmare, the emphasis is always on character and Sam’s philosophical quandary, and it pays off.
There are a few films where the protagonist’s entire world unravels from underneath them: Charlton Heston in the shadow of Lady Liberty, beating his fists on the beach; or Truman Burbank beating his fists against the painted backdrop of his reality (come to think of it, a lot of fist-beating tends to happen). Sam Bell’s revelation in
Moon is more of a slow burner than a Classic Movie Moment (there’s no fist-beating, for one thing), but it is excellently done, and provides a compelling version of the future that will give you plenty to think about. Which is more than anyone can realistically say about
Transformers 2.
Moon opens in cinemas on October 8, 2009.
You can view the Moon movie trailer here on TheVine.