A smartly minimalistic science fiction drama, Moon is a tightly wound, man-alone-in-space workout. Sam Rockwell is dynamite as Sam Bell, the lone inhabitant on a moon base. “Alarmingly vivid.” — San Francisco Bay Guardian
Rockwell commands attention throughout as a character whose exhaustion, disorientation, and eventual panic feel alarmingly vivid.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2009
Moon 2009
A smartly minimalistic science fiction drama, Moon is a tightly wound, man-alone-in-space workout. A hawkish Sam Rockwell is unstoppable dynamite as Sam Bell, the lone inhabitant on a moon base which is dedicated to harvesting lunar rocks to cultivate clean-burning fuel. As the end of his three-year tenure approaches, Sam anticipates his return to Earth. Grappling with the existential weight of alienation, solitude and the lonely disconnection from his wife and daughter back home, Sam’s broken physical and mental health disintegrate into delirium. And it turns out that perhaps he is not alone. Static and mesmerising, there’s a Kubrickian feel to Sam’s environment, but while 2001: A Space Odyssey looks pristine and sterile, Moon is gloriously grubbier. With a slow burning and tangible anxiety, Moon is moodily austere with a cool gloom but is certainly not cold, as it deals with memory and identity with real heart. — KD