Viewing Journal: 3/26/2009

MOON
(2009 dir. Duncan Jones) Date Seen: March 26 2009

[screened @ AFI Dallas 2009]

When the credits rolled at the end of this, I distinctly remember feeling like I had just experienced something of a new science fiction classic. And the key ingredient that made it stand above its current genre brethren was its having characters that you actually give a damn about. It's a pretty common complaint from me lately that lots of these big budget sci-fi pics introduce philosophical ideas-- and then fail miserably at exploring them in any interesting way. Duncan Jones' debut feature, MOON, is a stimulating exception. It really puts the gimmick juggling antics of a lot of the scripts floating around Hollywood to shame.

The big A+ takeaways from my first viewing were: The emotionally complex performance by Sam Rockwell, the expert sound design, inventive indie production values, + the ambient musical stylings of Clint Mansell.

The high-water marks for cerebral space cinema are clearly SOLARIS (1972) and 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968), and MOON is admittedly not quite on that same level; But it's a good warm up to heavier genre fare like those. If you love your science fiction movies overtly thoughtful and moody (SILENT RUNNING, BLADE RUNNER, PRIMER, etc.) definitely seek this out a.s.a.p. when it's released theatrically.

view the trailer below >