In the not-so-distant future the majority of Earth’s energy needs are supplied by Helium-3, mined from the far side of the moon. The company responsible for this miracle is Lunar Industries. Their lone moon-based employee, Sam Bell, is nearing the end of his 3 year stint ensuring that the machines keep working and that the Helium-3 is regularly shipped back to Earth. Despite the company of his robotic computer, GERTY, the isolation (made worse by the fact that the live satellite connection to Earth is broken) is taking its toll on Sam. With two weeks to go, and a wife and young daughter to return to, Sam just has to keep it together for a little while longer.
A virtuoso solo performance of a story penned by the son of a famous rocker begets an intense, thought-provoking science fiction film that recalls the kind of stories that made golden age science fiction authors great. Save yourself from the possibility of any spoilers by not watching the trailer. Go rent the film. Moon is a fine example of science fiction done right.
Duncan Jones, son of stellar rock star David Bowie, took a story he wrote specifically for actor Sam Rockwell, and with a small crew and miniscule budget they crafted a brooding, contemplative story that examines humanity through the eyes of a man and a machine. Moon is a film that builds at a deliciously slow pace, but never loses the engagement of its audience. Sam Rockwell is stunning in his performance. As is Kevin Spacey who voices the infinitely patient computer GERTY. Cast and crew capture the isolation and claustrophobia of Sam’s situation so perfectly. The film is quietly menacing right from the start as we see Sam nearly broken from his years of solitude and the tension continues to build as both the audience, and Sam, realize that something is not quite right.
To talk in any detail about Moon is to potentially ruin the power of the experience of seeing the film. On a few occasions this year I have discussed classic short stories that feel highly plausible because they are not far removed from reality. This film is like those stories. It is not filled with huge interstellar space craft and far-out gadgetry. Do not get me wrong, I personally love that kind of science fiction. But I feel compelled to give credit to writers who take what might be a more mundane view of the future and can make it every bit as exciting and sense-of-wonder inducing as the best space operas.
Moon delivers all the entertainment value one requires from a good story and in so doing makes us care very deeply about the one man we are allowed to spend time with and, oddly enough, his non-human companion. In fact, their relationship grew as the story progressed and resulted in some of the most powerful emotional experiences in the film. Sam Rockwell is fantastic, personally I am disappointed he didn’t get an Oscar nod for this one.
Rating:
4.5 out of 5 stars
Where to Go From Here:
To add a literary component to the viewing experience, I would recommend the following short stories, all of which I’ve recently read and called to mind while watching Moon: To Avenge Man by Lester Del Rey, Robert A. Heinlein’s The Green Hills of Earth collection, particularly the stories The Long Watch, Gentlemen, Be Seated, and the title story; and Venture to the Moon by Arthur C. Clarke. For an isolation story with the opposite emotional punch, I would recommend Rescue by G.C. Edmondson. It is hard to make film comparisons, but, without making judgments about these films, there were parts of Moon that felt like the first half of the film Sunshine and also the movie Solaris.
I would love to talk about this film with those who have seen it, whether you liked it or not. I would ask that you please preface you comments with the SPOILERS!!! label if you wish to do so.
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Late last night the HarperCollins Book Giveaway ended and it is time to announce the winners.
The two winners of a copy of Robin Hobbs’ latest, The Dragon Keeper, are:
And the two winners of Queen Victoria, Demon Hunter by A. E. Moorat are:
Winners, and those who did not win, can direct your thanks/hate mail to Random Number Generator!
Congrats to those of you who won. If you will please email your snail mail address to me at poegeek (at) gmail (dot) com I will forward them all in one email to Katrina Alvarez so that she can get your books mailed right out to you. I look forward to reviews of both (I am especially interested in Robin Hobbs’ book as she is an author I have not read, but is on my list), and thank you again Katrina for your generosity in allowing me to host this giveaway.
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And finally, to close out this Monday morning post, allow me to wish my heartiest congratulations to the New Orleans’ Saints for their come-from-behind Superbowl victory. While this was a bad year for commercials, it was another great year for the game itself, especially the second half. Chris, I was extra happy for you last night.
1. Yours is probably the most positive review of the film MOON that I have read.
2. Wow! Unreal. That is very cool. Thank you, Random Number Generator! Thank you, HarperCollins! Thanks, Carl V. for hosting the contest.
3. It was a pretty good game. I was cheering for the offense, whomever had the ball. I was sorry the game seemed to turn on the interception, but the Saints clearly deserved to win. When I got home from the Super Bowl party (across the street) I was tempted to put on the Louis Armstrong CD with “Saints Go Marchin’ In” on it, but Wife put her foot down.
I ate too much pizza (wait – is that possible?) and drank too much Pepsi, but I’m sure I’ll be feeling better any minute now. I thought the Doritos Dog Collar ad, and the Budweiser Calf Grows Up were the two best. The Monster.com Musical Beaver was pretty good too. Most of the rest seemed pretty lame.
That’s all I got for now. Peace, I’m out.
Chris – Congrats to you and your Saints. While it’s no secret that I wanted the Colts to win I must give your team and your coach all the props in the world for playing a great game yesterday. NOW let’s start the countdown to the draft.
Congrats to Richard and Bellezza. I love the cover on the Robin Hobb book. Please let me know how it is after you read it because I’m intrigued enough by it that I might go out and by this one. I never have read any of this authors work before but I’ve been itching to more and more over the years. I’m a sucker for so many great covers on Hobb’s books.
Richard – You have put me in a pizza mood. I need to get some good pie this week. Maybe some Waldo’s or Papa Keno’s.
Carl – I’m curious about Moon but weary at the same time. I have read many mixed reviews on it. Yours is the best I’ve read. My recent reading of To Avenge Man and your comparison to it makes me think this might not be the movie for me although I did enjoy Sunshine and Solaris so I’m torn. I really don’t embrace the melancholy like you do. Honestly. I’m a happy ending kind of guy which I know sounds pathetic but it’s just the way I’m wired. My kind of movie is like the highly entertaining version of Emma that I’ve been watching on Masterpiece Theatre these past weeks.
Carl, I’m so excited! It’s such a wonderful surprise to start my week, and I thank you for the opportunity to win this book. One of the many things that thrills me is that I’ll be able to share it with my son, who loves fantasy. (We took a long trip this weekend, and he read aloud for us from the Dragonlance chronicles the whole time. 😉 But, I’m going to read it first! Again, a big thank you.
Bellezza: I’m excited for you and, like Jeff, I am hoping to read good things about the Hobbs book because I would like to give her a try and this two-book series seems to be the right place to start.
Jeff: I’m with you all the way, don’t you just want to dive into some pizza? Pizza 51 is still my favorite, but Waldo is a close second and I can’t wait to try the new place you figured out.
I was so amazed the coach called the onside kick for the start of the second half. Kudos to him for being gutsy.
As for Moon, I find haven’t had the experience you or Richard have had. Every place I’ve stumbled across it gave it a thumbs up. It definitely has its sadness, but, without spoiling anything, it has a worthwhile ending and feels like a complete film. I know you liked Sunshine which is why I think you would like this.
Richard: As I said with Jeff, I haven’t come across any really negative reviews of the film. Even when I popped over to Rotten Tomatoes it was getting 89% and it wasn’t easy to find the negatives with all those tomatoes. Of the complaints I’ve read they seem to be more focused on the slow pace, which is something I really liked about the film and felt made it work. Telling a story about a guy stranded alone on a 3 year drudgery work job on the moon with only the occasional delayed message from home shouldn’t be a Bruckheimer action flick. And at 97 minutes it just the right length for the story it is trying to tell.
Movies, like books, certainly are different things to different people, but this is one that I feel really confident about recommending. It is a really nicely put together work. I can see why it wowed them at Sundance.
I really want to watch this film. Hopefully I’ll snatch it from a Redbox soon and watch it. Nice review, though I skipped some, just to be safe.
We watched Moon a week or two ago and were blown away. From the first moment, the music by Clint Mansell and the stunning visuals gave us high expectations and we definitely were not disappointed by the story or the acting. This is one of those movies that you wish you could always watch again for the first time.
I saw this a couple of weeks ago and was totally swept away; just haven’t got around to reviewing it yet….
Bride: I look forward to that review!
Kristen M: The visuals were really stunning. Especially in that one scene later in the film where the camera shot is coming from behind the vehicle and you can see the Earth big and glowing in the background. Wow!
Logankstewart: That is exactly what we did the other night, snagged it from the Redbox.
Carl, take a look at Crotchtey Old Fan’s assessment:
http://www.rimworlds.com/thecrotchetyoldfan/2010/01/moon-a-review/
Richard: His assessment, although well thought out and very clear with reasons why he feels the way he does, reminds me of the same thing I always hear when a science fan complains about science fiction films…”the science isn’t good”.
In the case of COF’s review it is more about psychology and corporate decision making but my following comments, which are more about science, still hold true in the way I feel about story vs. plausibility.
I read so many complaints about last year’s Star Trek film that said the same thing (Now you can love or hate Star Trek, but did people really go to the film expecting good science?). I don’t begrudge people who are science geeks and want good science in their films. If both could be achieved I wouldn’t know any better and science fans would be more happy with the films made and stories written.
I respect that opinion and there is nothing I could say to COF or any people with similar feelings that the movie should be enjoyed in spite of that. I have things I cannot look past in regards to books and films too. This is just not an area where I see it that way.
In his introduction to Robot Dreams, Asimov, a man who obviously (if you read all the introduction) prides himself on his scientific knowledge and background writes:
“That is because there is more to a science fiction story than the science it contains. There is also the story and if the science it contains is bent because of later discoveries, or because the plot absolutely demands the bending, we tend to forgive and overlook”. He later goes on to say that he uses time travel in one of the stories in the collection, something he firmly believes is impossible, because it not only serves the story but the story isn’t about time travel, it is about love.
The science fiction community may not be as forgiving as Asimov asserts, at least some aren’t. I for one am because I want the story, not the science. Moon isn’t about the science, it is about the nature of man, of corporations, and is in its own way about love.
If a story is good, I can overlook a number of potentially implausible or unlikely events…to me that is what science fiction has always been about. I grew up on Star Wars, after all. What I have never been able to do is divorce myself from that wide-eyed kid mode when it comes to movies to the point where I walk away thinking poorly about the science. In the few times I’ve had those thoughts, it wasn’t really because of the plausibility, it was because the story itself wasn’t good enough and made those errors obvious. I am well aware that it could be argued that a “good story” without plausibility is an oxymoron, but I am the kind of moron who just doesn’t believe that. I can name many a flawed story that I felt was a good story because of its execution and because of what I took away from the experience.
I think the story of Moon is fantastic and should be enjoyed for what it is.
But then, that is just my experience with the film 🙂
Carl,
I cant agree more about “Moon.” I saw this at the theatre and I think the big screen made it even more desolate and lonely seeming film. One of my favorite films of 2009.
I’m also super excited to be a winner. I look forward to receiving my copy. Looks like a lot of fun.
All the best
Stuart.
Stuart: Thanks for depressing me! I hadn’t even thought about what I missed out on not seeing this on the big screen. That would have been great!
And congrats!
Carl, as I read your comment reply to my opinion and that of COF, I thought this is a really well thought-out, considered argument he’s making and I was – am – impressed you took the time to quote the Asimov (which sounds mighty familiar, by the way). I’m not one of those SF readers who insist every bolt be threaded in the correct direction, though the science must be to me either a) plausible or b) believable. I certainly have no problems with the science in anything Larry Niven writes, for instance, and most all of Arthur C. Clarke and Asimov are okay with me in that regard. As for time travel, of course we think it’s impossible because we can’t grasp it, any more than James Watt could have understood a cyclotron.
I liked the Star Trek movie and had no problem with the time travel, but then I went intot he theater with my disbelief firmly suspended.
I appreciate you giving me the link. I went over and posted on COF’s review as well. I do think his reasons for not liking the movie were very reasonable and, as I said to him over there, I can’t argue with them. On the one hand, he is right. Where we differ is that the Moon he saw was not the Moon I saw and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Where I get more heated about this idea is with the Star Trek movie. I figure if a person who has watched the Original Series has any thoughts that a reboot of that same franchise is going to have good science then I’m a little worried about their eternal optimism! 🙂
In reading your comment I imagine, if I think about it for a bit, that when I watch many of these films the science is believable, or plausible, to me in the sense that I don’t really think about it unless it is so wildly unbelievable that it detracts from the story. That seemed to be the case with COF and Moon and was not with me. But again, science was never my favorite subject and I never go into a book or film and consciously think about whether the science or tech sounds right. In fact that only time I notice it at all is in stuff that is dated, and even then, if the story is good, I can easily look past that.
And I’m all for discovering time travel is a reality! I’d love to go back in time and stop Lucas from making the prequels!
What? You don’t like Jar Jar? I won’t tell my kids or they’d be mighty disappointed in you. 😉
The prequels did give us a pretty cool Yoda fight sequence so atleast there was one good thing that came from them.
Jeff: True. And I did actually like the pod race scene as well. Still… 😉
And just an fyi, COF’s review does contain major spoilers. He is cool about pointing it out before hand, but still.
Oh man! I’ve been dying to see Moon! It looks like such a good movie and your review has me wanting to see it right now. I had actually forgotten about it. Sounds like one of those wonderful quiet films that has a lot of power to it. Definitely have to get to this one sooner than later.
And WHO DAT!!!!!! 😀 I’m gonna send you an email!
Nancy Kress posted a less than flattering take on MOON last July.
WARNING: Her review is loaded with spoilers!!!!!
http://nancykress.blogspot.com/2009/07/cranky-at-movies.html
Chris: Thanks for the email, and congrats to you and the rest of N.O. again. What a great game. I hope you get a chance to see Moon soon and that you enjoy it.
Thanks Mark, and thanks for the spoiler warning, something she obviously didn’t initially include that pissed at least one reader off, rightly so in my opinion. I respect Nancy Kress as an author, I’ve really enjoyed her short stories. She definitely didn’t like the film,but her review follows the same pattern of stuff that I talked about in my long comment to Richard above.
POTENTIAL MINOR SPOILER:
I do find it funny that some complain about how this plan would be so inefficient to a corporation. Have neither of these people worked in corporate America or watched any of the recent world events? Businesses are notorious for inefficiency, cheap-bastard decision making, and foolishness. This didn’t put me out of the film, if anything it seemed more plausible. Ha!
Have you been able to pick up a copy of Poul Anderson’s “Call Me Joe”? If not, I’d be happy to lend you my April 1957 Astounding. Kelly Freas not only does the cover art but also four interior illustrations for the story.
The “Call Me Joe” wiki page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_Me_Joe
contains an external link at the bottom to a streaming audio reading of the story. A link that does work– I’m listening to it right now.
Mark: That is so great for you to offer, thank you so much. I did manage to snag the Science Fiction Hall of Fame Vol 2A from the library and read Call Me Joe last weekend. I really liked it. I am saving my post about it for my end of the month wrap-up. Reading it after seeing Avatar made me understand all the complaints about Cameron being a story stealer. One of the things I liked about it was that, despite the similarities, I thought it was a really good story, something I didn’t think of Avatar.
And thanks so much for the audio link to the story, I appreciate having a place to point people who want to ‘read’ the story for themselves. You and Richard are the link masters today!
I look forward to that post. I did snag a copy of GALAXY (December 1964) after reading your comments on “To Avenge Man”. Thanks for that!
Carl – I loved this film and can’t wait to see it again. Thanks for the review and the great conversation about is.
Gavin: You’re welcome, I’m looking forward to seeing it again myself. I want to watch it with commentary at some point.
Mark: Make sure you let me know what you think of that story, please.
Just watched this Saturday night. Loved it. We’ll talk later about it.
Cameron: AWESOME!!!! Jeff and I were just discussing on email today whether or not you had seen it. Can’t wait to chat.
Don’t forget to give me a baby update. 🙂
Hi,
I just discovered your blog last week and I already bought Boneshaker and already rent moon!!!
I loved the movie and was a bit scare at first that it was going to be other’Evil Computer’ movie.
As for the whole part where people don’t believe a company would make cheap decision. I agree with you, if those people believe that all corporation are efficient and well structure are really disconnected with today corporate reality.
Sylvain: (Potential Spoilers!!!):
It did seem like it might be an evil computer movie, didn’t it.
I hope you enjoy Boneshaker and that you’ll let me know what you thought, good or bad, after you finish it.
I’m glad you found me and hope you feel welcome to participate in conversations whenever the mood strikes.
wow..how ironic this movie comes out now when the President is about to cut all the funds for NASA to go back to the moon!! I get angered when I even think about it.
Thats great that a low budget movie can make an impression!! I love it when studios get a slap in the face with their big budget stuff (nothing against avatar!) ..but it is proof that a good story still stands high on the list of good movies!
well darn I wanted the Hobbs book too! lol I too haven’t read any of hers and funds are such I am pretty much stuck to just getting books that come out to series that I am already into.. if I can even do that! geez lol
Deslily: Oh that fickle hand of fate! 🙂
I’m disappointed in cuts to NASA as well. I know in this economy it is hard to think of spending money that way, but there is so much government waste that could be trimmed that would still allow funding for the space program.
(Potential Minor Spoiler).
I just found this small bits on Ducan Jones wikipedia:
Moon was screened at the NASA Space Center in Houston at the request of a professor there. The screening was part of a lecture series. “He’d been reading online that we’d done this film about Helium-3 mining and that’s something that people at NASA are working on,” says Jones.[7] “We did a Q&A afterward. They asked me why the base looked so sturdy, like a bunker, and not like the kind of stuff they are designing that they are going to transport with them. I said ‘Well, in the future I assume you won’t want to continue carrying everything with you, you’ll want to use the resources on the moon to build things’ and a woman in the audience raised her hand and said, ‘I’m actually working on something called Mooncrete, which is concrete that mixes lunar regolith and ice water from the moon’s polar caps.'”
So, I guess the science part was not that bad 🙂
I had read that too, Sylvain, but thanks for posting it here.
I was impressed with the set they built as they built it to scale, closed in, so that it would feel somewhat claustrophobic and so that camera angles would be confined to the space. It was really interesting. I certainly couldn’t imagine being in that small of a space for that long of a period of time. I don’t think I could hack it for a short time period!
Thumbs up! I would give it 4 out 5 stars. I thought I had stepped back in time watching a Scifi film from my youth.
I was just thinking 2009 was quite a year for Scifi films ( Star Trek, Moon, District 9 and Avatar ). When when was the last time when we had so many cool Scifi films released in one year. Usually we only get maybe one decent one a year and this past year we had 4 !!!
I think the kind of filming technique on Moon would work best for the Foundation trilogy adaptation of Asimov’s although I would like it made with a much better budget than Moon had. ( I like Roland Emmerich films, he currently is attached to the film, but I don’t think his style is a fit for the Foundation trilogy at all. ) It’s funny when I watched the special features the director notes his budget was 5 million with Moon as compared to another recent Scifi film, Sunshine, which had a 50 million dollar budget. If you rent this movie I highly recommend you listening to the Q&A sessions with the writer/director. It was interesting hearing what his inspirations were ( Outland, Silent Running, and Alien ) and what he was going for with his story.
I have read a lot of the negative views on this movie now and while I can hear where there coming from I just don’t agree with them. It sounds as if they are more interested in watching a science documentary than in watching a film which understands that story comes first. I think Science Fiction works the best when it asks us to think about the issues the story brings up and draw our own conclusions rather than being spoon feed a writer’s own personnel agenda.
Must admit that I am relieved you enjoyed it. Didn’t want Cameron and I to have to take you behind the woodshed tonight! 😉 Seriously though, I am glad it struck a cord with you. I want to keep an eye out at Half for a copy of this as it is one I would love to watch with commentary and I want to watch all the extras that I didn’t have time to when I redboxed it the other night.
I too would like to see Foundation done more in this manner than some big budget style action flick. I am not certain I even want to see a Foundation film, but if they do it I hope they do it right.
I feel the same way you do about the negative reviews. I do see their point, but I just don’t view movies that way. Great points, Jeff.
I don’t really want them to do a Foundation film. I just think it won’t translate well to the film medium.
Oh I’m so glad that someone else has actually seen this film! I was afraid that such a small low budget British film wouldn’t make it across to that States either, and am not happy at it being missed off the Oscar nominations 🙁 For me, this is what science fiction is all about. Understated, dramatic, inspiring and creative. Although not completely original, it was the atmosphere created in the film, along with (the always fabulous) Sam Rockwell’s performance that I adored about this film. Definitely up in my top three films of last year (along with Star Trek!) and probably the best quality film I have seen in a very long time. I have already bought the dvd for several friends as a gift!
Glad you liked it! And thanks for the short story recommendations. I really need to try reading sci-fi again. I confess to loving it on screen but not on the page.
Mariel: I’m glad you liked it. Great assessment of the film, btw. As for trying to read sci fi, I suggest you check out today’s review of the book Diving into the Wreck. It is what I would recommend as a book to increase the sci fi love.