The Thinking Man's "Terminator Salvation"

MOON

— SPOILERS, SPOILERS EVERYWHERE —

Actually, I'm not so sure about that spoiler alert, since the potentially spoiling information is revealed no more than a third of the way into the film, and is pretty much revealed (though in an ambiguous way) in the trailer. Nevertheless, I'd rather be over-zealous with my spoiler alerts than piss someone off. So if you consider, say, the nature of the Matrix in The Matrix, or Mufasa's fate in The Lion King, to be a spoiler, then consider yourself warned; if you don't, read on.

I don't know if you've seen Terminator Salvation—if you haven't I'll save you two hours: It has a couple cool action set-pieces but overall is pretty brainless and uncompelling; mostly it just made me want to watch T2 for the 10,000th time—so an alternate title for this post could be "Multiplicity in Space." I'll assume you're up to speed on mid-'90s high-concept Michael Keaton comedies—I know, who isn't?—so this should give you an indication of the main theme in Moon. Sam Rockwell plays Sam Bell, an astronaut-technician who monitors the extraction of a substance on the dark side of the moon that meets 70% of the earth's energy needs; he's up there alone for a three-year shift, his only company being GERTY, a computer that expresses itself with a yellow smiley (sometimes frowny) face on a screen and communicates with the voice of Kevin Spacey. The story begins two weeks from the end of his shift, and the years of isolation have taken their toll on Sam psychologically; in addition to his general mental fatigue, he begins hallicinating, eventually causing him to crash his vehicle on the lunar surface.

Sam then wakes up at the base, with little memory of prior events, but is forbidden by GERTY and his employers from leaving the base. Eventually, though, he goes out to the crash site, where he discovers—drumroll, please!—himself, Sam Bell, still inside the vehicle. Sam brings Sam back to the base, where they discover that they're clones of the original Sam Bell, who completed his three years long before and is now back on the earth; they, and their several clone predecessors, have been maintaining the lunar base ever since, a new one being "awoken" when the previous one becomes worn out by . . . well, I don't think it was ever really spelled out, but lunar radiation, weaknesses of clonal physiology, or simply the intolerable isolation may play a part. Not only are our two Sams facing an existential nightmare, but a "rescue team" will soon arrive that won't allow the secret of the base's personnel to get out.

That's the outline for the plot, but Moon is far, far more than just that. First off, Rockwell is fantastic (he'd better be, since he's practically the only actor in the film), essentially playing two different versions of the same character simultaneously: The first Sam we meet is near the end of his shift, talking to himself, hallucinating, and focused entirely on finishing his shift and going home; the other Sam, the one awoken when the first crashes, is (presumably) more like the original Sam when he first arrived, more physically and psychologically fit than the other but also more impatient and temperamental, without three years of solitude to mellow him out. Rockwell juggles this complex, delicate scenario—two characters that are actually the same person at different points in his life, face to face—effortlessly, highlighting the two Sams' subtle similarities and differences without beating the audience over the head.

Being a science-fiction film, the special effects necessarily have a role to play, and in that regard it's truly amazing that Moon's budget was only $5 million; every cent of that is up on the screen. It's obviously not an explosion-and-laser-battle extravaganza, being set entirely inside the space station, the vehicles, and on the spare lunar surface, but it's all entirely convincing in its simplicity and very lived-in appearance. (The living quarters and work stations are pretty cluttered, and GERTY has a cup holder on its side covered with spills and stains.) The other major visual-effects challenge, putting two Sam Rockwells side by side and having them interact like two different people, is pulled off without a hitch, even the shots that must have been composites; at no time did I think, "That looks like a composite shot or two different actors, not two Sam Rockwells." It's amazing to think that other films that spend $5 million on craft service alone end up with special effects than don't look nearly as good as those in Moon. Another great element—of which you get a taste in the trailer—is the score, by Clint Mansell (the composer for all of Aronofsky's films as well); reminiscent of Philip Glass's work, it perfectly fits the setting and mood with a repetitive, detached, almost inhuman, otherworldliness.

— RE-ENTERING SPOILER-FREE TERRITORY —

Seriously, I can't recommend this film enough. Especially in a summer movie season seemingly full of the worst that the film industry has to offer (Transformers 2 and Wolverine being particularly egregious offenders), thoughtful, moving films like Moon need our full support. (Not that Moon's the only quality film out this summer, considering Up, The Hurt Locker, The Brothers Bloom, Away We Go, and Drag Me to Hell, to mention a few thus far; make sure to see any of these you haven't seen yet.) It's clearly influenced by a lot of other seminal films of the genre, with a bit of Silent Running, a hearty helping of Solaris, a tablespoon of Blade Runner, and a pinch of 2001, but it also takes those influences in new directions, in some cases even subverting them. Moon is a perfect cure for the summertime movie blues. (Hopefully that last line will get me quoted in their marketing material. Fingers crossed!)

P.S. — Mike tweeted (trademark, all rights reserved) with the director, Duncan Jones, saying, "My buddy, Owen, just wrote an awesome review of Moon on his movie blog- Give him a shout out!" Jones twote back: Owen! Buddy of mjscurato! I shout at you! Read your review and its shout-worthy! Thank you ;)

Matt, it looks like we've hit the big time! We've got a supporter in high places (if all those exclamation points are any indication). Mr. Jones, if you're reading this, keep making 'em like Moon, and you'll find many more kind words for you on this blog. Best of luck for a long and successful filmmaking career.