Apr 18, 2019
Hi everyone!
Back in February 2018, just after starting the podcast, I did a review for a Netflix Original film called “Mute” (Episode #055). I was not a fan. At all. You can check out that review for all the reasons why. The film didn’t land well with the critics at all, for all sorts of reasons. It also came with a lot of disappointment from the fans, because many people thought very highly of today’s film.
I’ll give you my thoughts in a minute. Be sure to subscribe to stay connected with the latest reviews. And connect with us over social media to continue the conversation there!
Here we go!
/////
Today’s movie is “Moon”, the small-cast science-fiction thriller directed by Duncan Jones, and written for the screen by Nathan Parker, based on a story from Duncan Jones. The film follows Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), a lunar mining technician finishing up a three-year contract. However, after nearly dying attempting to investigate a problem, he is rescued mysteriously by... Sam Bell.
No spoilers.
I love films that unravel before you, especially science-fiction films. It’s always a joy to begin watching a film, and then have a single event or piece of information shift your entire perspective about the film. It can happen in a number of ways, but works most effectively with settings that serve as a reverse black box. Rather than not knowing what’s happening within a black box, we’re given the perspective from within the black box, in this case a lunar mining facility that has been struggling with communication issues to our planet. And when information is discovered from outside the box, it works as a beautiful sleight-of-hand, upending the implied plot points when establishing the characters and setting early in the film, so that when Sam Bell rescues Sam Bell, you realize that not only was Sam being lied to, but also ourselves as the audience.
Sam Rockwell turns into a landmark performance, one that works well both for his acting style and perfectly for this particular film. Like yesterday’s review for “Ex Machina”, small cast films may reduce the number of moving parts, but also place a lot of responsibility on the cast members to carry the film. Rockwell has a way of helping us share in Sam’s madness and confusion, making the most of the remote setting and Jones’ direction to help capture the story. He also turns in a very emotional performance, as he not only tries to figure out the mystery in front of him, but also deal with his physical and communication separation from his family. The performance, setting, and direction all complement each other remarkably well.
Now, the film does have a few sore points, not the least of which is the regrettable casting of Kevin Spacey as the voice of robot intelligence GERTY. It may not be fair to judge a film negatively because of the bad behavior of its actors, but it’s hard to ignore. The film also resonates well until it doesn’t, almost struggling to bring it home once all the pieces are known, a weird downshift from the first two acts. I also feel like the casting for the supporting characters was pretty wasted, given barely any screen time, and in the case of the rescue team dispatched at the beginning, very few unhelmeted scenes or lines. I’m sure everyone else involved loved the paychecks, but I can also imagine it took them away from other projects. Like, say, Matt Berry in anything. I was also left wanting to know more about what happens, and feel that over ten years later, we’ll never find out.
“Moon” is a trippy, near-future science fiction mystery that plays with multiple themes. Sam Rockwell turns in an amazing performance, complementing the story and setting, framed well by Jones behind the camera. Fans of big idea science fiction films, or small cast science fiction films, should definitely check out this film.
Rotten Tomatoes: 90% (CERTIFIED FRESH)
Metacritic: 67
One Movie Punch: 8.2/10
“Moon” (2009) is rated Rand is currently playing on Netflix and Fandor.