Starring Sam Rockwell
Written by Nathan Parker
Directed by Duncan Jones
Written by Nathan Parker
Directed by Duncan Jones
It's always tough to live up to expectations. When your good friend tells you that this is his favorite movie of the year (and when you and said friend have a similar taste [generally speaking] in movies), you'll go into this with high hopes. I honestly was just hoping I'd have a semblance of enjoyment...and more than a semblance was had.
Sam Bell (Rockwell) has lived on the moon for three years, working for a company that is harvesting energy from beneath the lunar surface. His only companion is the moon base's computer, Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey). Sam is getting close to the end of his three-year solo stint and is eagerly awaiting returning home to his wife and his young daughter. However, his three years alone on the barren moon have perhaps turned him a little crazy as he begins to see hallucinations that make him begin to question both himself and the company he works for.
This is Rockwell's film and his film alone -- he is in every single scene. I don't want to give anything away (because there are a few surprises in this sci-fi/suspense/drama), but as an actor, he needs to run the gamut of emotions in this tale, while at the same time holding the audience's attention since he is the only thing we see -- and he does both extremely well.
He is helped by some stellar direction by Duncan Jones, making his feature film directorial debut. Now, I have no idea what the budget was on this movie, but I can't imagine it was a whole lot. They (I have no idea who the "they" is -- Jones and the producers, I guess?) make this movie look expensive which certainly helps the sci-fi tone. Cheap sci-fi is just cheesy and this does not look like cheap sci-fi. Top-notch production design for sure in this one.
I'm sitting here typing this, thinking of a multitude of questions I want to ask someone which, in my mind, is a good thing, because the film has got my mind contemplating what I just saw. Movies that do that are always a plus.
The RyMickey Rating: B
I think I remember reading it was a 5 million dollar budget.
ReplyDeleteDon't you love how I pick some random statement in your review and respond to it and only it?
It looked great for 5 million.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I liked it. I was slightly bored at parts...bored's not really the right word, but while I can't really pinpoint what I disliked, I know that I didn't love it.
Still, Rockwell was really good and I really can't get over how good it looked for such a low budget.
Is Mute the supposed sequel you were referring to or something completely different.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, I thought the film looked excellent. Super impressive in terms of that especially for the low(er) budget.
I'm intrigued by Jones as the story for Moon (by Jones) was quite good...as I kinda said to you last night, there was something that didn't quite work for me in terms of keeping my attention the whole time (for which I'd moreso fault the screenwriter than the director). So I'm interested to see what else Jones has to offer...
Interesting...so it will have a slight connection...
ReplyDeleteThe film sounds vaguely like another flick I watched recently...Mute Witness...only in the respect that it's about a mute person who gets mixed up with gangsters (but has trouble relaying the awful information about said gangsters because she's mute). The flick actually wasn't too bad.
There's something to be said for movies that put a handicapped person in peril (see Audrey Hepburn in "Wait Until Dark" where she plays a blind chick being terrorized in her own house by the sweet lovable grandpa from "Little Miss Sunshine/Sunshine Cleaning"...so frickin' good...).