The other night on Twitter, I had an interesting conversation with a few people. I had mentioned that, in an effort to ensure my movie dollars are spent effectively, I've begun being more selective about the films I see. I was burned by many a film in the 2005-2008 summer film runs and just didn't want to deal with it anymore. Going to see Terminator Salvation with a friend was the straw that broke the camel's back. In that conversation, though, I mentioned that there had been a dearth of hard science fiction films in the past few years. While these friends offered a few that seemed interesting - some even on my Netflix queue - it was left unchallenged. Comparing now to say the late 60s or early 70s, we're lucky to get science fiction that isn't a franchise or with an explosion-per-minute rate of 10. Yes, I'm a bit of a film snob, what can I say?

Still, I had seen some early trailers for Moon and was unconvinced. While it looked interesting, at first it seemed to be comedy. Later trailers hinted at it being a psychological thriller, but the concept didn't really seem so fresh. While the latter presentation of the plot is closer to the mark, it's not quite right on. I was ultimately swayed by my friend's enthusiasm for the film after seeing it.

Moon is a story set in our not-too-distant future. It focuses on Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), who is the sole worker on a small moonbase that is responsible for supplying some 70% of the world's energy through Hydrogen 3 farming. Sam has signed a three year contract with the company he works for and keeps himself as busy as possible maintaining the sample collectors, keeping in shape, watching 70s TV shows and whittling a scale model of a town. As the film opens, Sam is counting down the days until his contract expires and he can return home to his wife and daughter. However, after an accident, brought about by visions of a woman Sam keeps having, Sam overhears some interesting conversation between his employers back home and the sentient computer, Gerty (Kevin Spacey), who keeps Sam occupied on the station. It appears Sam has woken up too soon. Tricking Gerty, Sam begins to investigate what happened to him during the accident. He soon finds another man in the crashed rover on the surface of the moon - another man who shares Sam's face. But is this other man a hallucination, a clone, a twin? Sam's journey of loneliness and internal conflict is brought to light in an original and mesmerizing way.

You'll have to forgive me talking around the plot a bit, but I found not knowing anything about the revelation (which occurs earlier in the film than you would think) really shapes your experience of the film. The film is essentially Rockwell's from start to finish. And he does an amazing job. I would never assume this is the guy who played "Generic Security Guard #3" in Galaxy Quest nor that he had it in him to play, essentially, two different characters who share so many of the same traits. Kevin Spacey is fantastic as the computer Gerty and delivers many cold, emotionless lines with a slight lilt of caring. Still, the film is able to do something Castaway couldn't, tell a good story with only one character.

I was quite impressed with director Duncan Jones, son of David Bowie. Indeed, I was even more impressed to find this to be his first work as a professional. Jones also wrote the story the script was based off of. Jones worked very hard to keep this story small and intimate but never at the expense of visuals. For an independent film, I was shocked by how good the CGI for the moon surface and vehicles was. There was a certain retro design to the film, looking and feeling a lot like space stations and ships seen in 50s and 60s movies, but with that touch of the ultra modern seen in more recent films. While we have white walls, many are dirty and grimy as if someone had actually occupied the space for some three years. Gerty is an inventive, but practical design - a large computer that runs a track through the roof of the base. As well, Jones is able to get an excellent, emotional performance from Rockwell that ranks amongst the best Sci-Fi acting jobs I've seen in years.

Personally, I'm not one for underscoring in films. There are a select few film composers whose music can make or break films, but honestly, on the whole, most films have terrible, distracting underscoring. I was quite surprised to see Clint Mansell, who scored The Fountain and Requiem for a Dream among others, attached to the project. Mansell is generally known for pretty bombastic, over the top, classically-inspired, emotive scoring. His piece "Death is the Road to Awe" from The Fountain is something I listen to on a regular basis, but not something I would consider hearing in a retro, straight-up Sci-Fi film. I was surprised to hear something almost minimalist from Mansell. Before seeing his name, I thought perhaps they had gotten Philip Glass to do the music for the film. The recurring theme of the film serves as the perfect hybrid between Mansell and Glass's styles. Never did I feel the music was too powerful for a scene, and I was glad it was there most of the time.

My biggest complaint with the film is that Jones was obviously influenced by a great many films he grew up on in writing and directing this film. Obviously the film heavily relies on 2001: A Space Odyssey and the original Solaris for their visual storytelling and plot themes. Themes from movies like Outland, Silent Running and Alien are also evident in the plot. While this isn't necessarily bad, at many times these sources are worn on the movie's sleeve. I didn't enter the film to play a game of connect the dots to other films, if you follow my metaphor. It still makes for an interesting Sci-Fi film, over all, however - taking the best of these masterpieces and combining them.

I did also have a complaint that the film never quite covers why Sam begins to have the visions. While there are certainly a few reasons the viewer can posit, nothing is really confirmed. Indeed, any reference to the visions is dropped almost 20 minutes into the film. It was nagging at me the entire time. Ultimately, they're not important to the plot. Perhaps they were hang over from a previous version of the story?

Over all, this was probably my favorite film of 2009 so far. And the reason for that is that it seems original. Despite the heavy influence of other films on it, there is a sense of "I haven't seen this before" to it. As well, this is probably my favorite hard science fiction film from the past few years. The film is far from perfect, and it is important to remember this is the director's first film. But if this is any indication, Jones has a strong career ahead of him. Moon, directed by Duncan Jones, starring Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey, is currently in limited release throughout America, check your favorite movie ticket/time site to find out when it comes near you.

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