Moon

This is one of those films that you should know as little about before going to see it. I may have to reveal some spoilers so you should read this review after you have seen the film. All you need to know is that this is an excellent film which features a brilliant performance by Sam Rockwell that will surely get him an Oscar nomination.
Some of the greatest films are so incredibly simple in their premise and execution that they do not need all the flashiness of a big budget (see the previous film I reviewed). This film is set in the one place and features very minimal special affects but has such a brilliant story. Big budget special affects are all well and good but if there is no decent story to back it up you are just left with something hollow. I’m not sure if it’s obvious at all but I picked up the ‘twist’ to this film before I even saw it. In some ways I hate when that happens but it is reveal fairly early on and the rest of the story more than makes up for it. It is the reveal of this twist that carries the rest of the film. The only thing I did not like about the film was the use of the computer Gerty. I know it is meant to be a homage to ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ but I think it looks and sounds too much like HAL that it distracted me from the film. This might be due to the use of Kevin Spacey as the voice. Kevin gives an excellent performance but he sounds too much like HAL. I think they should have cast someone who sounds less like HAL and speaks less like a robot and a little bit more human.
Sam Rockwell is an actor who is mainly done supporting work in films. He is another actor I admire for being able to move from big budget to low and across many genres. In this film he gives the performance of his career until now. He is so phenomenal that it will hopefully get him some greater recognition. I have no doubt that he will get an Oscar nomination for this role but it’s too early to say if he will win. The way he is able to act opposite himself is amazing. The only other major role in the film is that of the computer voiced by Kevin Spacey. As I said he is great but I think he was miss-cast for me and it would have worked better with someone else, maybe even a female voice.
I encourage all sci-fi fans and even those who aren’t to go see this film. It goes to show how the simple things in life are often the best.