Moon (2009)

Duncan Jones’ story of Moon (2009) is fantastically shown through his own directing and Gary Shaw’s skills being director of photography. I was very surprised by what Moon had to offer, the plot works well with the sci-fi theme and adds to the interest, giving the film so much to tell. We are acknowledged of this as the film goes on, as it shows us through its excellent camera and sound work. Where it has all been put together to create a fantastic piece of work, in Moon.

The film set in 2035 and is based around the character Sam Bell played by Sam Rockwell, who is sole employee astronaut and due to earth's power problems he is set to harvest and periodically rocket back to earth supplies of helium-3. However, Sam and the station do not have any direct link to earth. All Sam wants is to return to his wife Jess and young daughter Eve. With two weeks to go until his return to earth, as his 3 year work period is coming to an end, an accident occurs with the mechanical harvester. Resulting in Sam reawakening back in the station, leaving us asking a question of what we just witnessed and what is to come next. But how far will Sam go to get back to earth?

Being based on one isolated character the film does well to keep us guessing as Sam Bell does himself in the world of 'Moon'. Also with the film set on the moon, appreciation must be given to the special and visual effects departments who present the film on screen to feel that we are really there. However this does not mean that there is no room for improvement, but as technology advances, there will always be a better quality of films as time goes on. In relation to its time of release Moon is second to none.

The majority of the film is based in the lunar station where the lighting is well done due to the main white theme that the base has. Also, the lighting has massive contrast as the with the bright white of the lunar base and the dark gloomy outdoors of the moon, where both are adequate.

Overall I was impressed by the film, however mainly due to its story. Giving the viewer the same feeling as the main character Sam Bell, as the story unravels itself to him, so does to us. However, the addition of small details can create dramatic irony to those who take notice and excel the plot into deeper twist and turns. I would recommend the film to any drama/mystery fan, however, the sci-fi side of the film is not really pushed on hard and is used as more of a background use for the plot to unravel in its own way, rather than a more complicated view on science fiction. If you are looking for something intense this is not the film for you as it is very toned down when it comes to action and is mainly use of dialogue that carries the story. However, the film has more positives than negatives and is worth looking into.