Great Films of the 21st Century: Moon (2009)

 

With theaters still not operating, for the most part, many of us are looking to streaming services to watch movies, new and not so new. With this category on this blog, I will explore the films I believe are the absolute best of the 21st Century so far. Be sure to check them out.

Moon 

Director: Duncan Jones

Stars: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey, Dominique McElligott

In the not-too-distant future, Earth has found a new source of energy that meets the needs of about 70 percent of the planet. And it all comes from the moon. Energy from the sun is trapped in moon rock, then harvested and converted to helium-3.

With that kind of background, “Moon” could have gone in a thousand different directions. But this is an atypical science fiction film: one intended to bring about a visceral reaction and perhaps the kind you didn’t expect.

Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) leads a lonely existence at the moon base where he, alone, oversees the largely automated harvesting process. He makes sure all the rock harvesters continue operating smoothly. He is part engineer, part maintenance man and part astronaut. Once he gathers enough helium-3, he loads the containers on ships and sends them back to Earth. His only companion is an AI robot named Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey). They are able to have reasonably complex conversations. But it certainly doesn’t replace human contact

Sam is two weeks away from the end of his three-year contract and is eager to get home to his wife and family. He gets video messages from his wife and daughter, but for some reason they can’t communicate in real time.

While Sam is so close to the end of his mission, he starts to feel physically ill. He has frequent headaches that seem to be increasing in frequency and intensity. He also begins to hallucinate, seeing a young brunette woman sitting in his chair. And then there are technical glitches around the base that tell him something’s not quite right.

While he is out in his moon rover checking on one of the harvest vehicles, he sees the young woman again and it causes him to crash the rover. He winds up in the infirmary with no recollection of what happened.

After waking up in the infirmary, Sam senses something is amiss. Gerty maintains contact with company officials and they seek to limit Sam’s activities, ostensibly to ensure his recovery. And in this regard, there is a certain similarity between Gerty and HAL in “2001: A Space Odyssey.” But Sam doesn’t buy the excuses he gets. He notices things that don’t make sense like why one of the rovers is missing, along with a space suit. And despite the technology involved in this kind of energy production, external communication always seems to be hindered. His curiosity gets the better of him and he sets out to solve the puzzle he seems to be living.

Granted this film came out in 2009 and audiences have had ample time to see it. But if I were to reveal any more, it would be too much.

The loneliness Sam feels is unbearable. And at a time we’re living in, we can certainly empathize to an extent. We are, by nature, social creatures. For a human being to take on this kind of project, to be separated from his family for so long, I certainly hope he was at least paid handsomely. It makes you wonder whether he underestimated how difficult it would be having to go so long without human contact. Maybe the money was just too good to pass up. Or perhaps there is something else at work here (wink wink).

Sam does find answers, but they only lead to more questions. Some of the best sci-fi films tackle fundamental existential questions. And here, one of those questions is what does it means to be human as technology advances? Are we human because we feel loss, emotional pain, and joy? Are we human because of the memories we have?

This was director Duncan Jones’ (son of David Bowie) feature-film directorial debut. And he co-wrote the screenplay. Jones shows remarkable skill despite his relative lack of experience. The film develops magnificently. Jones sets out plenty of clues, but the big revelation is still a surprise. Its denouement is tragic and heartfelt. This isn’t just one of the best films of this genre, it is a truly great film regardless of category.