MOON - Film review by Mark Woods.

In the cold vacuum of space Moon is a breath of fresh air! At last, what fans of intelligent science fiction have been waiting for. A film with a proper plot. Ideas. Atmosphere.

Duncan Jones, known to some as Zowie Bowie, to others as David Bowie's son, directs his first major motion picture. A modest budget of 5 million dollars enables him to bring us a tale with believable subjects and brooding menace.

Sam Bell is a miner working on the moon in the near future for the resource Helium-3 which now powers Earth. Quarries on the lunar surface provide the cargo which is periodically shuttled back to Sam's home planet during his contract. This is 3 years.

The film joins Sam as he is nearing the termination of this period. He is feeling lonely - unsurprising as his only companion is GERTY, Lunar Industry's maintenance computer. As with most symbiotic man-machine relationships in science fiction the computer comes across as thoroughly sympathetic and friendly but also slightly untrustworthy and a little too good to be true. His surroundings are the grubby rooms of his living quarters. His food comes in small, square packets which simply need heating. Convenience and boredom abound.

There is a communications glitch with the Earth-Moon service which has dragged on for much of Sam's shift. This means his conversations with his wife and child are recorded to disc and played back to him. Never mind - his shift is about to end. Right?

Wrong. Sam's routine, beginning with his Chesney Hawk's "I Am the One and Only" alarm call, is beginning to fall apart. He's feeling increasingly agitated..he seems to losing his grasp on reality. Is this because of the isolation? His physical health is deteriorating although he looks after himself. Most of his spare time seems to be spent on a treadmill. Perhaps it is just terminal boredom?

Without spoiling what is the intelligent twist to the plot and spoiling it, we watch Sam discover that he is neither alone nor safe in his industrial environment...

Very atmospheric, well photographed with a haunting soundtrack and a great performance from Sam Rockwell this film provides a classic sci-fi tale. Paranoia and tension build with good pace and the character is developed so that the viewer actually cares what happens to him. A rarity these days. Those who are as ancient as I am will be reminded of the claustrophobic atmosphere of Dark Star and Silent Running.

A clever plot idea is revealed towards the end. It's a long time coming but worth the wait. The waiting is bearable as the scenery is worth looking at.

I'll be looking out for Duncan's next film .I like his style.

7/10.

Review: Mark Woods, 2009 (LordBeanpod@GMail.com)