An engaging sci-fi enigma provides a thought-provoking premise, but too many unanswered questions and too many similarities to superior staples of the genre leave Duncan Jones’ Moon simply a platform for compelling performances by Sam Rockwell and Sam Rockwell. It’s almost a two-man (or maybe one-man) mystery and the creepy, lonely setting (heightened by a brooding score) might have worked more effectively had the film ventured further towards thrills than morality, but it’s rare to see a complex and intelligent science fiction film not bogged down by overwhelming predictability.

With only two weeks left of his three year contract on the moon-based mining compound Sarang, solitary crew member Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) can’t wait to return to his family on Earth. But the mind-numbing isolation and utter detachment from human contact has already taken its toll on the miner, and bizarre visions and troubled dreams disrupt the efficiency of his work. Strange occurrences with communications systems and abnormal behavior from his robotic assistant GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey) put Sam further at unease. After a perilous accident with one of the excavation units, he awakens to find that he may no longer be alone in the mining facility…

Moon explores the very heart of science-fiction through the most quintessential themes, many of which mirror possible realistic futures, straying away from the more outlandish subjects. There are no aliens or heavily armed spaceships, no time travel, warp drive, black holes, or dwarfish, wizened green men who tutor in ancient sorcerer’s ways. Instead, the ideas of isolation, loneliness, the value of human life, productivity, solutions to global energy crises, artificial intelligence, and cold corporate business practices are examined. While materially futuristic, the setting is one of the key elements that make Moon pure science-fiction.

It’s hard not to make comparisons to Silent Running (a solitary man strikes up conversations with his plants while watering them) and 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kevin Spacey’s calmly eerie voice all but duplicates HAL 9000), along with several other less notable precursor sci-fi films. Sam Rockwell steals the show, and considering he’s practically the only cast member, it’s a good thing he’s such a likeable, believable actor. Accompanying his performance is pleasantly foreboding music that perfectly sets the mood, masterfully placed throughout the most spellbinding moments by composer Clint Mansell.

Moon is one of those films that rely heavily on a shocking discovery by the only main character, which can’t be discussed in detail without spoiling considerable realizations. While mulling over hallucinations and a mysterious doppelganger, Sam is slow to interrogate and doesn’t overreact like he ought to. His reactions are generally not inquisitive enough. It’s an effort to draw out the plot in the form of a terrifying conspiracy, but the result delays answers to the hundreds of questions forming in the audience’s minds – some are sated but others are left open-ended. In the end, Moon engagingly sets a bleak, scarily inhumane atmosphere that is interesting but not spectacular.

- The Massie Twins

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