Moon

I saw Moon last night. Not to be confused with New Moon, for crying out loud. This one was directed by Duncan Jones, son of David Bowie, and acted in by Sam Rockwell. Both of whom turn in fine performances.

Moon is about a guy named Sam (Sam Rockwell) who is in the last weeks of a three-year contractual stretch to man the Lunar Industries-owned moon station. This moon station oversees the mining of helium-3, which, in turn, provides Earth with much of it's clean energy. His only company on this three-year gig is the robot, GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey). That's until Sam gets into an accident, wakes up, and finds himself facing Sam.

Who is the real Sam and is the other Sam a figment of an untethered and frayed mind, a clone, or a metaphysical manifestation of needs and wants? Will either Sam make it back home to the wife and kid he left behind? What secrets are hiding in this dark and cold lunar landscape and in the bulkheads of this ominous moon station?

It's all great sci-fi, folks. Sam Rockwell acts by himself and shows his amazing range. Duncan Jones imagines a great story and paces the film well. I like that this quiet movie punches you in the gut and also makes you chuckle sometimes with its gallows humor. Yet, Moon's resolution is just a tad bit hopeful.

I love sci-fi, the imagination that goes into the genre, the cautionary tone, and the hope that is often injected to the text. When confronted with a future, or present, where we humans will do our dumbest best to eradicate our own race and humanity via man-made natural catastrophes, artificial intelligence gone haywire, or cloning misuse, some people just want a cheerier picture. I'll take that.

But I also like sci-fi when it doesn't resolve and when it ends up asking more questions. Like what is the merit and value of reality, love, or one's existence in the face of being infinitesimal in this very large and cold universe?

By the way, if you know me, I'm really a very happy guy. Haha.