moon
A Philosophical Sci-Fi Drama that Mines the Depths of Consciousnesses
Who is Sam Bell? That is the overriding question in Duncan Jones's directorial debut, Moon, starring Sam Rockwell. Rockwell (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Choke) plays a lone miner on the far side of the moon named Sam Bell, who slides into cosmic identity crises. Not just of the human
variety, but (warning: Plot Spoiler) as a human clone. Moon is a philosophic exploration into the complex notion of human cloning juxtaposed against the solitude of space exploration.
Duncan Jones's academic background is rooted in philosophy and it was only later that he took his burning questions to the big screen. Jones shows a promising launch as a filmmaker; a preferred platform for philosophers in the Twentieth Century. The questions of 'what is consciousnesses' and 'how do we acknowledge identity' are prominent in Moon. The genre of Science Fiction is no surprise for Jones, whose academic thesis was, How to Kill Your Computer Friend: An Investigation of the Mind/Body Problem and How It Relates to the Hypothetical Creation of a Thinking Machine.
Moon is a sci-fi drama about an astronaut who is stationed on the moon working for an energy company in order to supply more efficient fuel or planet Earth. The astronaut is played by Sam Rockwell, who does a tremendous job in this role. His only companion on the moon is a sophisticated, talking computer. He experiences the psychological effects of being alone and isolated from home.
The wonderful cinematography and the shots of Earth from the moon are spine-tingling because it gives us the complicated and virtually unattainable perspective of being so close, but yet so far away from home. The moon setting captures the dark and lonely isolation that could make anyone go crazy.
Moon raises many ethical and moral subjects that present the dark side of certain technological advancements, which I considered to be the most powerful part of a slower-moving film. And just for this reason, I think everyone should go see it. This film may not be well-received by "mainstream" audiences, but anyone who likes a well-done thought-provoking film will appreciate this. Moon has been called by many people as "the Anti-Transformers" film. It was in independent theaters around the same time that Transformers 2 was in theaters. Transformers 2 made incredible amounts of money at the box office, and Moon made just a sliver of that, but I think we all know which is actually the better film.
