It's lonely out in space. No one understands this better than Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell). He has been single-handily working on the lunar surface for the past three years, and his contract is nearly finished. Two weeks to go until he will return home to an estranged wife and a daughter that has grown up without him. Earth has discovered an alternative fuel source called Helium 3, solar energy trapped in the surface of the moon. Sam has been hired to help harvest and ship this fuel back to earth. His only companion is GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey), a robot with a comforting tone, and a possible sinister dark side.
I thought this film was going to be about how prolonged absence and isolation from the human race would drive an individual to experience space madness. For a while, it is. We see Sam begin to crack at the seams as he watches video messages, and catches visions of things that may or may not be there. While mesmerized by a vision, there is an accident and Sam wakes up in the infirmary with no memory of how he got there, only to discover he is now no longer alone.
Form there the isolation angle is dropped, and it turns into a what the hell is going on and how long have I really been here mystery. This is not high profile flashy Sci-Fi on the level of Alien or Sunshine. This has more in common with ultra low budget/high idea thriller Primer. If you have seen this film, then you will figure out Moon very quickly.
Rockwell is forced to do all of the heavy lifting seeing as how it's a one man show, but he still manages to play one character many different ways (no fair telling how). Spacey was a perfect pick to voice GERTY. He has such a calm and charismatic voice. I never knew where the line of trust would begin and end between these two.
Moon has a very appropriate title. It is a very cold and desolate experience. It is constantly interesting, but becomes a very somber and depressing tale. As a big fan of brainy and quiet science fiction films like 2001 and Silent Running, I was a little disappointed in this one. I hoped this film would further explore the effects space isolation has on the mind. Instead it turns into a different film altogether. Still, it is fair to say that films like Moon only come around once in a blue one. C+
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