The Stranger

Blue-collar worker Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) lives alone on an energy-mining colony on the moon. As he nears the end of his three-year hitch, he gradually starts to lose his mind. Sam suspects his HAL-like helper robot Gerty (voiced with delicious apathy by Kevin Spacey) of colluding with his superiors in some kind of a conspiracy. Just as he starts to prickle at his robotic companion, he encounters, impossibly, another Sam Bell, identical to him in almost every way, on the station. It's in these scenes--Rockwell interacting with Rockwell--where the movie really finds its power. Moon was written for Rockwell, and it's completely his show: He's in almost every scene and at times the movie feels so intimate that it could practically be a theatrical production. He does a fine job of staying somewhat likable (never entirely likable, to his credit), and, most notably, he never overacts. Moon is one of those rare films that prove that you can do great, intelligent sci-fi with a tiny budget. By Paul Constant

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