All the separate pieces ofMoon, the 2009Duncan Jonesfilm,feel relatively simple alone, but are combined into something very special. It fits into one ofthe best kinds of science fiction: a story about people as well as societythat just happens to be set on the moon.It feels like a mid-twentieth-century short story that you read somewhere in high school and can’t quite remember the name of, but you’ve never forgotten the way reading it felt.Sam Rockwellportrays the film’s protagonist (also named Sam), an employee of the corporationLunar Industries that operates on Earth’s moon,mining a fuel resource to send back to humanity’s home. As Sam nears the end of his three-year contract with the company, he begins experiencing strange hallucinations, and,through a series of events, encounters his doppelgänger.With only a budget of $5 million, smart direction, fantastic production design, amazing performances, and a tight script,Moondelivers one of the most memorable science-fiction stories of recent decades, and possiblyan all-time great one.
What Is ‘Moon’ About?
Everything thatMoonaccomplishes is layered uponthe foundation of a very human story, executed with a very clean script and a fantastic and committed leading actor in Sam Rockwell. InMoon, theemotional center of what the characters are experiencing is always the focus. Like many of the great science-fiction stories,the futuristic or the fantastical is the vehiclefor telling a very human story, making each narrative moment more impactful. As the mystery of what is happening on the far side of the moon unfolds, in significant moments, the camera lingers, the take stretches, and Rockwell shows us what these moments mean for our protagonist, andMoontricks the audience into forgetting this was all put together for us to watch.
With Not Very Much, ‘Moon’ Accomplishes a Whole Lot
When discussing the process of developingMoonwith actor Sam Rockwell, Duncan Jonessaid:
“We both liked the sci-fi films of the 70s and the early 80s - Silent Running, Alien, Outland - and the sense of realism and mundanity they brought to space, with a lot of the day-to-day grind comparable to jobs on Earth. So I said: ‘Let me see if I can write something.”
That intention is clear in the finished film.It has the lived-in qualityrecognizable inso many iconic science fiction stories.The interior of the Lunar Industries facility feels utilitarian, as do the costumes worn by Rockwell’s character. The facility’s robotic assistant GERTY, voiced byKevin Spacey, has a “retro sci-fi” design. Remarkably,this was achieved with a budget of only $5 million.These limited resources are in part what makeMoonsuchan atmospherically striking and immersive filmto watch. The most effective choice is always the one that the filmmakers have made, and rather than feeling like it was made on a tight budget, the“sense of realism and mundanity” Jones was hoping to captureblazes brightly.
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One of the strongest elements of the film, a choice that was most certainly made due to the film’s budget as well as because of the movies that inspired it, isthe exterior shots that were achieved with model miniatures.The look of these shots that were captured using aclassic filmmaking technique of the 70s and 80sfits intoMoonperfectly, and as with Rockwell’s performance, you never question the reality of what you are seeing on screen;you are watching the daily routine of a lunar mining facility.Both within the facility and in the exterior sequences, there are shots inMoonthat look like they could be from a much older film, in the best way possible. Often,budget limitations encourage the most creative,inventive, and memorable filmmaking. Case in point:Moon.
Moonis a film in which there is not a bit of excess, neither inits narrative nor the filmmaking used to capture it,and the performance of Rockwell shines through as the focus. That is the lesson ofMoon: with a strong foundation, creativity, and passion,incredible filmmaking wins the day and endures,regardless of the budget.For science-fiction fans, filmmakers, and movie lovers of all kinds,Moonis one worth remembering.
Moonis streaming for free on Pluto TV in the U.S.
Astronaut Sam Bell has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, where he, working alongside his computer, GERTY, sends back to Earth parcels of a resource that has helped diminish our planet’s power problems.
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