Moon

UK Release: 17th July 2009

Watched on DVD: Sunday 2nd/Monday 10th September 2012

Rating: 15

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

Runtime: 1hr 37mins

Tagline: The last place you'd ever expect to find yourself

IMDb Plot Synopsis: 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.

My Review: Moon has to be one of the cleverest films I’ve seen in a long time. it definitely helps to come to a film with as little knowledge or expectations as possible and I did just that with Moon. I’d always heard good things about it and have been waiting for the DVD to come in price so I can see for myself what all the fuss was about. And so it was to my delight that I saw Moon at a bargain price in a charity shop whilst visiting family. I couldn’t wait to see it so much that I watched it in the car on the way home and while it absolutely blew me away I still had the feeling that it would be even better at home on a big static screen where I can take in it’s incredible special effects and beautifully detailed sets fully. And so I saw it again a few weeks later with a friend who also happened to want to see it. And again I couldn’t get over how clever this film is. Not since Inception or The Social Network have I noted on the quality of writing or complexity of the plot in such a praise-worthy way. Because the twist... it goes to levels I hadn’t anticipated it going at all. It’s just so emotional - every extreme human emotion is laid out on the moon, humanity stripped back and it is cruel. It is absolutely a character piece on Sam Bell and what it means for him to be alone working on the moon as he comes to the end of his three year contract eagerly awaiting to see his wife and baby daughter. Sam Rockwell was mind-blowing as you completely empathised with him. So completely. 

I was in tears by the end. 

Knowing the ‘moment’ of change, I concentrated during the second viewing to see if I could pick up on it and Duncan Jones did an incredible job here. While I did notice it it blends so well with the rest of the film that it’s only if you look hard like I did that you really spot the change. I know this may not make sense to someone who hasn’t watched it but I really don’t want to spoil it any more than that. Just thats it’s so much more than a science fiction film. Yes, it’s set on the moon but it is a psychological thriller and a drama and every second of it is heart breaking.

Moon is by far the best film I’ve seen this year.

Score: 9.5/10