Moon

Sam Bell is employed by Lunar Industries and is two weeks from ending his three year contract stationed alone on the moon harvesting helium-3 Earths leading power source. While counting down the days Sam begins to see things and after an accident wakes up to find another Sam Bell on the station.

So far 2009 has been an incredible year for sci-fi and Moon is one of the sci-fi films that strikes me as not only great but incredibly unique. The film focused on one character and yet manages to be riveting and propel forward into an ever deepening mystery.

Moon would be nothing without Sam Rockwell. He plays two versions of the same character in the film and you can see the differences in the emotional journey each version of Sam Bell is currently at. Rockwell is an amazing actor and his performance in Moon is a testament to that. Both of the characters he plays are Sam Bell but both feel like different characters – it can be an actor & directors dream or nightmare and in Moon it totally works.

Another performance worthy of noting in Moon is Kevin Spacey, the third main character Gerty who is robot tasked with taking care of all of Sam’s needs. I am always amazed when a non-human character can manage to take on a crucial and emotional role in a story comprised by humans. Gerty cannot emote in a traditional way and it is a testament to the prowess of Kevin Spacey and Duncan Jones that Gerty becomes an important and lovable character.

Director: Duncan Jones
Writer: Nathan Parker
Sam Bell: Sam Rockwell
Gerty: Kevin Spacey