Each year throws up a new and exciting filmmaker and 2009 was no different as it came in the form of Duncan Jones as he made his directorial debut.
It is the near future. Astronaut Sam Bell is living on the far side of the moon, completing a three-year contract with Lunar Industries to mine Earth’s primary source of energy, Helium-3.
It is a lonely job, made harder by a broken satellite that allows no live communications home. Taped messages are all Sam can send and receive.
Thankfully, his time on the moon is nearly over, and Sam will be reunited with his wife, Tess, and their three-year-old daughter, Eve, in only a few short weeks.
Finally, he will leave the isolation of 'Sarang' the moon base that has been his home for so long, and he will finally have someone to talk to beyond 'Gerty,' the base’s well-intentioned, but rather uncomplicated computer.
Suddenly, Sam’s health starts to deteriorate. Painful headaches, hallucinations and a lack of focus lead to an almost fatal accident on a routine drive on the moon in a lunar rover.
While recuperating back at the base (with no memory of how he got there), Sam meets a younger, angrier version of himself, who claims to be there to fulfil the same three year contract Sam started all those years ago.
So many movies take the trip into space but you have never seen an off world move quite like Moon, it really is a journey that you will never forget.
It’s a powerful central performance from Sam Rockwell, and bearing in mind that he has virtually no interaction with any other character makes his turn even more impressive.
Rockwell is a very underrated actor but delivers a powerhouse performance is brimming with heart and humanity as well as being warm and funny.
So many science fiction movies rely so heavily on CGI but Moon has moved in the opposite direction set almost completely in the moon base it gives the film a claustrophobic and restricted feel that’s incredibly powerful and gripping.
But journeys onto the moon surface are incredibly beautiful and it’s hard to believe that Jones is a first time filmmaker.
Moon is beautifully crafted movie with the desire to live, love and family at it’s core it never gets lost in science fiction and holds on tight to these values.
The movie blends humour, drama and fantasy all into one with such ease, making Jones on of the most exciting directing prospects.
Many similarities can be drawn with 2001: A Space Odyssey and is a breath of fresh air in the middle of the CGI driven movie.
2009 was another great year for top class moves and Moon really does rank among them, if you are a fan of the sc-fi genre then this is an absolute must see.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in Moon Duncan Jones