MIFF review: Moon (2009)

Genre: Thoughtful Sci-Fi

Director: Duncan Jones

Moon manages to quietly reference a swathe of the classic sci-fi canon and still pull off something original. 2001, Star wars, Solyaris, Aliens, Dark Star are all reverberating around Moon’s small setting. A memorable, gentle film about isolation, future fears, and the things we hang onto to keep us going.

Nice Soviet lookin' poster

Nice Soviet lookin' poster

The robot is voiced by Kevin Spacey. He kind of annoyed me, because I kept thinking it was just Kevin Spacey

The robot is voiced by Kevin Spacey. He kind of annoyed me, because I kept thinking it was just Kevin Spacey doing a voice of a robot

Moon is beautifully shot, utilising a dreamlike soundtrack, and a tone that shifts seamlessly from creepy isolation, buddy movie, and to escape movie with complete coherence. The moon exteriors are original and blend CGI and scale models in a way which avoids artificiality and results in a warm, believable aesthetic. Equally believable is the performance by the often underestimated Sam Rockwell, who plays the only real role in this film as a sun harvester, 2 weeks away from completing his contract and returning to earth (and his ridiculously hot girlfriend!). And It’s a role he plays multiple times during the film (for an explanation, you’ll just have to see it)

To top all this off its the directorial debut from David Bowie’s son, Duncan Jones, who has been pretty quiet up until now! Already in IMDB’s top 50 sci-fi films, Moon has joined the canon of quiet, contemplative futurist film making.

Another Big recommend, ****

Ronan Macewan

Other MIFF reviews:

10 conditions of love

North (Nord)

The Girlfriend Experience

Anna



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