Moon

After receiving a vast amount of critical acclaim at the Sundance and Cannes festivals, the Sam Rockwell powered one-man psychological sci-fi thriller show begins to worm its way into more theaters on its steadily expanding limited theatrical run. Directed by Duncan Jones, the real life son of Ziggy Stardust himself (David Bowie) Moon takes many of its cues from classic fare like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, Solaris and Silent Running.

Rockwell plays Sam Bell, an astronaut finishing the last two weeks of his three year contract in an energy harvesting base on the far side of the moon. Kevin Spacey lends his voice to the robotic service assistant, GERTY, that mills about the station on a ceiling rail. His dulcet tones haunting the hollow compartments that Sam inhabits. As his contract end date approaches, his mental state begins to wane and he is involved in a moon rover accident following a hallucination. Sam awakens back in the station to find that there is another Sam Bell on the station who claims to be there on the same three-year contract.

Jones exploration into the nature of the human condition when faced with bleak and undeniable solitude is nothing short of mind blowing at times. The atmosphere is set perfectly in the cramped confines of the Sarang station's set design. The dim neon lights reassert the artificiality of Sam's surroundings. The choice to use miniatures instead of straight up CG adds a veritable amount of believability to the isolated locale of the moon's surface. The haunting score by Clint Mansell (best known for his work with Darren Aronofsky, namely Requiem for a Dream) seems to reverberates off the station walls, becoming a living attribute to Sam's plight.

Of course, it's impossible to leave the theater and not commend Rockwell for the daunting task of being the sole human character(s,) especially after the performance he's thrown together. While known for more eccentric characters like Billy the Kid from The Green Mile, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy's two headed, partially retarded ambassador Zaphod Beeblebrox and most recently the sex-addicted con-artist, Victor Mancini the adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's Choke, Rockwell employs a staggering range of emotion, especially when acting against only himself. It's almost convincing enough to assume that Rockwell has a true life twin to act off of, though it's all camera tricks and simplistic duplication effects.

Though a great deal of Moon's moral and ethical themes are unpleasant to ponder, what comes off the screen sticks with you. As a freshman effort from Duncan Jones, the end product is astounding to say the least. This is a director to keep an eye on in the coming years.