Half Moon

Last night, I went to see the new science-fiction film Moon. It's the directorial debut of Duncan Jones, son of David Bowie, and a tale definitely in the mold of cerebral science-fiction, rather than the whiz-bang kind mostly served up on film these days.

In a not-too-distant future, a corporation has been able to solve the world's energy crisis by means of a harvesting operation on the moon. Though largely automated, the outpost requires the presence of a single human, who signs up for a three-year contract that places him in complete isolation. Due to faulty communications equipment, no live contact with anyone from Earth is possible; the occupant must settle for sending recorded messages back and forth.

Sam Rockwell plays this lonely worker, as he's nearing the end of his contract. Aside from his robotic companion and "caretaker" (voiced by Kevin Spacey), and brief appearances by other actors (mostly on recordings), he is the only actor in the movie. And it's a truly amazing performance.

To say more, I must divulge a plot point that doesn't come to light until about 20 minutes into the film. Many would not regard a first act revelation as a spoiler, but on the off chance you might, here's your chance to bail on the rest of this review; you can just take away that I'd mostly recommend seeing this movie.

Still here? Alright, then. It turns out that this station worker is actually a clone. An accident causes a new incarnation of him to be awakened from stasis, but as the former version was not actually killed, there are now two copies of the man living on the station together, trying to get to the bottom of what's really going on.

Armed with that knowledge, you can now understand what an extraordinary performance Sam Rockwell gives in this movie. Virtually every scene is him playing off himself. He deals with the technical requirements of this seamlessly -- no doubt guided by a director who doesn't in any way hint this is his first movie. But the real accomplishment here is in the emotional precision of the performance. The two versions of the character are both clearly recognizable as the same man, and yet both clearly different by their life experiences. One has just been awakened from stasis, while the other is near the end of a three-year stretch in which he hasn't interacted in person with another living soul -- an experience which has definitely changed him. Each character is compelling, and completely believable.

Unfortunately, the script lets the movie down a bit. The writing is clearly aware of the themes in play here -- Mankind's capacity to be cruel to the individuals within it, one particular man's conflict with himself (manifested literally), and more. But too often, the movie only brushes up against these themes without embracing them.

The reaction of each man, upon discovering he is really a clone, is rather sedate. It's not the shocking moment I'd expect, but more of a "next step" in the plot. And as the movie marches on, it comes oh-so-close, but misses, opportunities to explore other questions. What sort of man would agree to let himself be cloned and used like this? Did he give any thought to the consequences for these incaranations of himself? What was he told or offered by the corporation to make this arrangement palatable? What morality is at play here? A "good of the many" over the "good of the one?" What rights does a clone even have? At least twice in the film, a scene actually begins in which these issues might be addressed, only for things to be abruptly cut short.

So in the end, you have a smartly directed, brilliantly acted film with a very provocative story... that ultimately chickens out on actually provoking, in favor of simply entertaining. And it does do that, to a degree where I'd ultimately recommend the movie. But I'm still disappointed to think about how much greater this movie could have been. I rate Moon a B-.