DVDs in Review

Moon

Title: Moon (2009)

Release date: November 16 2009

Certificate: 15

Format: Reviewed on DVD, available on Blu-ray

DVD RRP: £19.99

Rating: 5/5

While the majority of the pre-release for 'Moon' revolved around its debuting director (Duncan "David Bowie's son" Jones) the finished film isn't just any old space oddity - it's a genuine masterpiece and an understated one at that is a far cry from rock star theatrics.

Recalling the greatly underrated sci-fi dramas of the 1970s such as 'Soylent Green', 'Solaris' and 'Silent Running', Jones has crafted a brilliantly observational thriller that does away with lasers, aliens, intergalactic fights and replaces them with introspection and isolation.

Sam Rockwell relishes in the greatest role of his career as Sam Bell, a worker on a lunar space station whose three-year stint mining energy is coming to an end, which is a good job because he's starting to crack up - he's been dreaming about his wife and daughter, talking to himself and finding space a very lonely place to be indeed. His only companion of sorts is the ship's computer GERTY (a HAL-esque robot voiced by Kevin Spacey). 

Because he's so tired and burnt out, Sam starts making mistakes and one has near fatal consequences that sees him get knocked out to awake and find out that nothing is really the same. Something is going on, but is it in his mind or is he being done away with?

To say any more would spoil the build up but it's this psychological detour that propels the film into masterpiece territory. Soon you will find yourself questioning identity - what kind of job Sam has undertook and what kind of person does that make him? What kind of person would hire him?

It's not to say that 'Moon' revolves around a massive twist ending, but even if someone has told you which direction the plot takes, the film still makes for compelling viewing.

Jones appears to be an actor's director - he has brought in a visually expansive yet claustrophobic film in on a modest budget, shooting a tight screenplay that gives Sam Rockwell the kind of role most dramatic actors would yearn for. Rockwell screams in one frame and cries in another, beating himself up and tearing himself apart for a performance that is all at once doused in paranoia and blackly funny.

But in the end, no matter how much range Rockwell's emotions show, 'Moon' is a film that transcends its inescapable central character and urges you to think outside of the box. It just happens that the moon is the box and for all its wonderment it's a very lonely place to be.   

The DVD from Sony is well worth picking up thanks to its extras - two separate commentary tracks, a making-of documentary, a visual effects featurette, two Q&A sessions and Duncan Jones' short film 'Whistle'.