Zowie Bowie is all grown up and making movies now, under the name “Duncan Jones” (“Duncan, what the hell kind of name is that?? And, you are NOT going out looking like that. Get upstairs and put on your makeup and skintight leotard! We’re a skintight leotard family! Thank you, Kevin Meaney)
Moon is compelling and effective; however, its ambitions to being a major mind-trip space film don’t really measure up to other films you might be reminded of, such as 2001 , Solaris and even Silent Running (where the bee-dee bee-dee robot destroys all the greenhouses in space–though I might be wrong. I haven’t seen it in twenty five years and I get it confused with the Buck Rogers TV show). Sam Rockwell is very good, [vague SPOILERS AHEAD] especially in the long sections where he must interact with himself–a more wound-up and angry version of himself. The voice of Kevin Spacey, coming from “Gerty,” the robotic assistant is perhaps a bit unsettling–Gerty is a twist on HAL, in that he is a rather reasonable machine who really wants to help (or does he?). The premise for the film is rather perfunctory, suggesting an evil corporation, who, unlike the major university, never heard of just exploiting folks at low wages. In fact, there are many loose ends here, but I think you will enjoy the story, if you don’t overthink it, as well as the attempts to duplicate the feel and pace of 1960s/70s science fiction. In fact, I wish it had gone for more extended eerie trips through moonscapes–though that may have endangered too much its “limited run” at my local multiplex. Next up, Space Ossuary where Mick Jagger and David Bowie must join forces with Sally Field to counter osteoporosis.