Movie Review: Moon (2009)

Moon (2009) co-written and directed by Duncan Jones

Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) works alone on the far side of the moon where harvesters gather Helium 3, a substance that provides clean energy for most of the Earth. The base (owned by Lunar Industries Inc.) has a computer assistant named Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey) that monitors various situations and gives Sam someone to talk to. But Sam has been talking to himself lately. He's in the last month of his three-year contract and ready to go home. If you haven't seen the film, I recommended watching it before reading on in my review. This is a film that is best watched without knowing too much about it ahead of time, at least for the first watch. I've seen it twice now.

So don't get spoiled if you don't want to. This is your last chance to turn back.

Sam goes to check on one of the harvesters that is having problems. He's distracted by his deteriorating mental state and crashes his lunar crawler into the harvester. Then Sam wakes up in the base infirmary where Gerty asks what he remembers of the accident. Not much is the answer. Gerty keeps Sam inside the base until he can fully recover and get back to work. Sam discovers some things that make him suspicious, eventually leading him to escape and go to the wreck. At the crash site, he discovers the driver of the vehicle...himself as an older man. But only three years older. The two Sams have an awkward relationship back at the base. Gerty is blithely evasive about what's going on. The younger Sam realizes he is a clone and suspects the older Sam is also a clone. Older Sam is reluctant to agree but eventually comes around. They plan to get back to Earth before a "rescue" ship arrives in a couple of hours to fix the situation.

The movie starts off slowly but pays off with a lot of thoughtful developments. The story is anchored by Rockwell's excellent performances. Playing the same guy but with different perspectives on the situation must be hard but he delivered. The script is lean enough to leave out any fluff, barely commenting on the callous indifference of the corporation or the growing understanding between the two Sams. The movie is very well worth the watch and even a second watch.

Recommended.

For a more in-depth discussion, check out Episode #308 of A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.