It took a while to be released in Australia, but finally I've seen Moon (imdb) - one of my most anticipated films of this year. It's usual with highly anticipated films to feel disappointed as the final result can very rarely live up to the expectations that grow in the imagination.
Moon is not one of those films.
This small budget little-film-that-could is destined to be referred to as a classic of the sci-fi genre and is easily my top film of 2009, although most of that could be because there is so little true sci-fi in movies these days. Yeah, this isn't ray guns and robots plastered over a story that could as easily have been a western or action flick or whatever. Most films use the sci-fi genre merely as a backdrop to tell conventional tales - and yes, I include Star Wars in that comment. After all, isn't it the same white hats versus black hats story, complete with a princess to be rescued, that has been at the centre of storytelling since the very first bard said "Once upon a time..."?
True sci-fi is not just a futuristic setting or a collection of cool gadgets. True sci-fi is about ideas, about exploring who we are now by imagining where we may be going and what we might become. The best science fiction stories are those that could not be told in any other genre. In that way, Blade Runner is true sci-fi - ironically superimposing the film noir genre onto the story in much the same way as other films superimpose the sci-fi genre on theirs (See my previous thoughts on Blade Runner). 2001 is a true sci-fi film as the story could not be told in any other genre. Even Wall-E is a more deserving pure science fiction piece when compared to the usual blockbusters like Transformers and others.
For those yet to see it, cue trailer.
Moon is so obviously a film that has been crafted by artisans, not constructed by Hollywood committee. The entire budget was approximately $US5 million - pocket change for movies these days. Yet every cent is visible on the screen. Director Duncan Jones has achieved a more convincing world than many other big budget movies I could mention. You really feel this place. The authenticity of the lunar landscape, the technology, vehicles, everything sucked you into a fully believable world. I am sure our first lunar bases will look something like this.
Jones' direction is flawless, with the beats of the film happening just where they should. The screenplay, by Nathan Parker and Jones resists the temptation to use the ingenious plot as an excuse to make it a 'twist' film. Instead, the solution to the mystery is treated as less important than how the character, Sam, deals with it. This enables the film to focus on the human element, prompting questions of identity, of what it means to be human and issues of perception versus reality. As such, Moon is reminiscent of some of the works of Philip K Dick, who was also fascinated by the idea of reality and perception being two separate things - and what happens when everything you perceive is revealed to be false.
I must also make special mention of the incredible soundtrack that so carefully evokes the loneliness and sadness of the distant moonbase. Scored by Clint Mansell (yes, Clint Poppie of Pop Will Eat Itself fame, music trivia fans), it has been a while since I have seen a soundtrack so well matched to a film.
And Sam Rockwell is incredible in what is a very difficult role.
The tragedy is, of course, that Moon is showing on only a handful of screens in Australia. Relegated to the arthouse cinemas, it won't reach the mainstream audience who continue to be fed stodgy, unimaginative and and unsatisfying celluloid experiences. In a month when queues will be lining up to see the next Twilight film or the latest Vince Vaughn unfunny shambles, a film like this gets overlooked. Yet, in ten years time, this is the film I still expect people to be talking about on DVD as a genuine classic while Partners Retreat is bundled as a two-for-one with an equally unfunny Adam Sandler flick.
Moon is still on limited release in Australia and is out on DVD in the UK next month.
It is a fine wine in a world of Coke. Shelley said it perfectly as we left the cinema together: "That was a genuinely satisfying film". And isn't that rare these days?
