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We open with a promo for the benefits of Helium-3.
In the future, it's been discovered that the sun's rays
bathe our moon with this precious substance and can be harvested,
shipped back to Earth, and used as a pollution-free power
source by means of nuclear fusion. The only hitch, apparently,
is that harvesting Helium-3 requires an astronaut to spend
three years on the far side of the moon, where darkness
and barren landscapes serve as reminders of just how isolated
he will be. ***
This is the situation Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) finds
himself in. Even with a well-stocked food supply and various
forms of entertainment, one can only be alone for so long
before the mind begins to deteriorate. Is there any way
to account for talking to yourself? Is there any way to
account for a literal interpretation of that last statement?
***
There are such fascinating psychological concepts coursing
through "Moon," the feature film debut of Duncan Jones,
son of musician David Bowie. He tells a story, but he seems
much more interested in probing the human mind. This is
interesting given the fact that, at this unspecified point
in time, there's no real way to define what it means to
be human. ***
I'm being annoyingly vague, I know, but this isn't a
film that easily lends itself to detailed descriptions.
The audience will continuously be asking, "Why?" all throughout,
which is good because Bell is asking himself the exact same
question. Things are happening for reasons no one is entirely
sure of, save for the fact that this entire operation is
run by a corporation. Corporations have agendas. Agendas
have to be kept. ***
The story unfolds gradually and doesn't actually begin
until the moment Bell crashes his rover vehicle into an
automated harvest machine. He awakens in the medical ward
of the main station completely unaware of what happened.
He is, however, continually reassured by the station's computer,
GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey), who has a central unit running
along a track on the ceiling. ***
It obviously has no feelings, but it is programmed
to know which emoticon to display at the appropriate moment.
Does this computer know more than it lets on? Why was it
able to have a live video conference when Bell could only
rely on recorded messages sent back and forth? He could
have had the chance to speak directly with his wife, Tess
(Dominique McElligot). Then again, after three years, she's
likely to be a very different person. ***
GERTY, whose monotone voice is eerily incompatible
with its accommodating nature, will inevitably be compared
to HAL 9000 from Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey."
Indeed, there many distinct similarities throughout the
whole film, from the sterile look of the station's rooms
to the emphasis on science and technology. ***
That being said, "Moon" doesn't end with a spiritually
profound statement. It goes for a more existential approach,
continuously exploring themes of sanity, isolation, physical
health, and most importantly, self-discovery. I'd like to
say more on that last point, but I think you'll enjoy this
movie much more if you go into it cold, as I did. Not knowing
beforehand what I would be experiencing allowed me to think
about it all throughout on a deeper level. ***
Much of the story plays like a duel, in one corner
a reasonably fit Bell, in the other a Bell whose body seems
to be losing cohesion. He's feverish and pale. He continuously
coughs up blood. He's weak and hostile. There isn't much
of an explanation for this, but it does make for an interesting
visual counterpoint, quite possibly made with the intention
of representing different aspects of his personality. ***
Other traits come into play, none more telling and
understandable than his hobby of carving wood into miniature
buildings, complete with miniature people. He also tends
a small potted garden, and he makes a point of talking to
the plants as he gently sprays them with water. Three years
is an awfully long time on the moon. Even holding a conversation
with GERTY can't possibly be enough to keep him going. ***
The mysterious nature of the story is second only the
mysterious nature of the moon itself. We know that it's
reachable, and indeed, we've been there before. But how
much do we really know about it? What secrets lurk within
the craters and deep shadows? In the future tense of "Moon,"
corporate entities see it not as a celestial enigma but
as a resource, and who's to say how long they can rely on
it before it's depleted? How long can you rely on people
as a resource? These questions are never posed in the film,
but I sure did think about them as I was watching. ***
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