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Moon (2009)

Director: Duncan Jones

Time Out rating

Average user rating

18 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

Click here to read our interview with the director of 'Moon'

We know that Duncan Jones is David Bowie’s son, but, more importantly, is his feature debut any good? The answer is a resounding – if qualified – yes, judging by this 1970s-sci-fi throwback, which, for a modern space movie about the knock-on effects on man of future technology, is unusually thoughtful, good-looking and well-acted. Sam Rockwell (below) is Sam Bell, a nervous lone astronaut on the moon where, at some point in the near future, a corporation is mining Helium-3, now the source of most global energy. It’s Bell’s job to manage this operation in the company of a sympathetic robot called Gerty (one of several nods to ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’). When we first meet him, Bell’s three-year stint is almost complete, but he’s tired and unhinged – symptoms, no doubt, of solitude and having to communicate with his wife and young child by taped messages as the satellite is broken…

If that last fact sounds a bit too convenient, that’s the point: all is not what it seems. Jones has created a credible theatre in which to stage a meditative play on isolation and identity within the bounds of wild fiction, the edges of which are curiously blurred. Less is more in Jones’s eye: he knows that big ideas can be lost amid noisy gestures so keeps his drama within the confines of a few rooms, with only the odd, more poetic moment unfolding outside on the moon’s surface. As the film goes on, early ideas about loneliness segue into a more troubling (and confusing) study of corporate exploitation and even – here’s a biggie – what it means to be human, when a second Sam Bell, a clone also played by Rockwell, appears and shakes up all perceptions of what’s going on. The film is not entirely logical, but it raises pleasing questions and looks beautiful.

Click here to read our interview with the director of 'Moon'

Author: Dave Calhoun 2009-07-14 11:30:34

Time Out London Film 2030, July 16-22, 2009

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User reviews of this film

longjon said...

Posted on Sep 16 2009 13:20 You sod! Wish I hadn't read the review now - only wanted to find out if and where it was playing. Who hired you?

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Justin said...

Posted on Sep 10 2009 19:19 I enjoyed the film. The twist happened early on in the film and to be honest I saw it coming a while off. After that it was pretty much striaght foward story till the end. But I enjoyed the retro 70's sci-fi style and if your expectations are not too high then it is enjoyable if a little of a no brainer.

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jcro said...

Posted on Sep 10 2009 02:30 The way I took it was that it was a story about the loss of a relationship. He's abusive, she leaves, the world is lost. Note Bell's actual "self" angrily asking "who's asking about Mom"? Too much plot construction and many logical gaps, but a very fine film nonetheless. Ended fifteen minutes late. Three of four stars (five star systems are wrong).

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P Gill said...

Posted on Aug 11 2009 14:18 Not just me who's annoyed though is it? And many other reviewers got around it.

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dave calhoun said...

Posted on Aug 11 2009 14:16 P Gill - If a spoiler includes something that occurs in the first 20 mins of a film, what are we supposed to critique? The credits? Thanks for the abusive comment though.
DC

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P Gill said...

Posted on Aug 11 2009 13:48 Nice one putting a spoiler in the review. Real hotshot pro aren't you. Ruined it for a few people. Stick to the day job you cretin.

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RW said...

Posted on Aug 10 2009 15:27 Brilliant. Gerty is a great rebuff to terminator.

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Liv said...

Posted on Aug 09 2009 01:45 This film is okay. Not great, not terrible but okay. I didn't particularly care about either of the characters. I didn't care if one of them died. Gerty the robot is disapointingly humanised to an extent towards the end. There are a few plot holes in this story but as a first film it's pretty good (even if all of the themes have been seen presented in a similar way many times before). Unless you're really keen I wouldn't rush out.

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Rick said...

Posted on Jul 28 2009 04:49 Note to readers: it you haven't read the review and don't want any spoilers, don't read on:
The "clone" information, coupled with the mention of "corporate exploitation," will really taint the movie-going experience for anyone capable of second grade-level extrapolation. Sure, there's more to the movie than that, but people enjoy experiencing a narrative unravel, and you've already unfurled a large portion of it.

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paulrou said...

Posted on Jul 26 2009 14:36 The point of a denouement in an allegory is surely more important, than the 'jack in the box' moment???

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thaddeus said...

Posted on Jul 24 2009 17:03 I cannot believe you included the spoiler in the second last sentence. One of the key moments in the trailer that piques your curiosity and you killed it for me. Very sloppy indeed. Really not happy with that. In fact I'm actually really angry.

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Peter said...

Posted on Jul 21 2009 11:40 Please don't include MASSIVE spoilers in your reviews. Very enjoyable film, a real throwback to SF classics of the 70s. And great timing for its release, with the 40th anniversary of the moon landing.

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J said...

Posted on Jul 20 2009 12:56 I'm glad I didn't read your review before I went to see this smart and beautiful movie. Your spoiler will have ruined it for me.

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justin said...

Posted on Jul 19 2009 19:55 Not as boring as Samuels review above.

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madison said...

Posted on Jul 19 2009 16:08 i enjoyed sam rockwell's convincing performance and liked the mournful soundtrack. the overall effect is oddly moving. 3.5 stars

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