(Note: Moon isn’t a trick-ending kind of movie, but I still don’t want to spoil anything, so I’m going to be really unspecific in my review.)

Pi and Primer proved that you can do great sci-fi with little to no budget. Moon is a bit more ostentatious than those two movies—it’s about a blue-collar worker named Sam Bell living alone on an energy-mining colony on the moon at the end of a three-year hitch, so there are a lot more special effects than either one of those examples—but it certainly has the same ambitious reach of the best independent sci-fi films.

Moon was written for Sam Rockwell and it is completely his show: He’s in every scene and at times the movie feels so intimate that it could practically be a theatrical production. As Bell begins to lose his mind with two weeks left in his three-year contract, Rockwell does a fine job of staying somewhat likable (he’s never entirely likable, to his credit) and never overacting. I would love for him to at least be nominated for an Oscar for this one, but I doubt he’ll get the credit he deserves because…well, it’s a low-budget sci-fi film.

And that’s about all that I want to say about it: If you liked Pi or Primer, or those post-2001 films about space like Outland and Silent Running, or really science fiction film in general, you should see Moon. It plays tonight at the Egyptian this afternoon at SIFF Cinema. Director Duncan Jones will be in attendance.

UPDATED to include correct movie times and locations for today: 4:15 at SIFF Cinema.

16 replies on “I Saw It: Moon”

  1. I really enjoyed Moon, but I wish that trailer didn’t sort of give away the twist in the story, even though it comes early on.

  2. I saw it yesterday at the Egyptian. I’m pretty sure the show today is 4:15 at SIFF Cinema. Also, click on my name to read my review (its a bit more spoilerish than Paul’s, but I don’t give a way the MAJOR twist).

  6. It’s at 4:15 today at SIFF Cinema. I’m going to see Rembrandt’s J’Accuse there at 7pm and a friend is catching Spike Lee at the tribute at the Egyptian at 7pm. Bluebeard is 9:15pm at SIFF Cinema too.

  8. I loved it so, but man, I really don’t like Rockwell. His acting is superb, yes, but this is a personal thing. I just don’t like looking at him. He makes me feel icky. Much like John C. Reilly, Tom Hanks and Woody Harrelson. Voice, face, hair, smile, frown…everything about them makes me want to run out of the theater screaming.

  9. Strangely enough, it was more lighthearted than I expected. In my opinion, I felt that this take on solitude was a little more ‘Red Dwarf’ than ‘2001’. Especially in a more dramatic sci-fi film, this was actually refreshing.

  10. There is a bit of PKD in this film. Although the aesthetic cues are mostly from films like 2001 and Alien, thematically the film is much closer to Blade Runner.

    BTW, I hope Mr. Jones is a bit prompter in showing up after the SIFF screening than he was at SFIFF. He has some marvellous stories to tell, though.

  11. I’m kind of wanting to see this movie based on this unspecific review. I’d heard about it, but wasn’t sure. By the way, Duncan Jones is David Bowie’s son…

  12. I believe Moon opens for a limited run in mid-June. Though you probably won’t get to talk to David Jones’ son at your local Landmark theater.

  15. @3, 10, does the story include creepy, powerful mind altering drugs that may or may not effect objective reality? The you’ve got an PKD story. I’d love to see someone take on Valis. Maybe with Charlie Kaufman on screenplay.

  16. I read a George R R Martin short story a lot like this recently. Or maybe it was Piers Anthony? I read the 2 books back to back. Anyway, it was sad and kinda creepy, much like this movie looks to be based on the trailer.

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