Moon and something interesting

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen!

Well here goes my second attempt at doing regular blogging (don't hold your breath) and this Friday we have two topics on the agenda a review (yay!) and a badly photo-shopped poster (?).

Just before I start the review: Ta to everyone who watched and voted for "Just a Game?". The support was much appreciated and helped us to win film of the month for august, which was brilliant! If you're near any of the big screens like the one in Swindon you might even see it up there! Actually if you fancy following the link and voting for it a second time we might be in with a shot of film of the year at the awards ceremony next summer...

However that's all a pre-amble!

REVIEW: Moon (2009)


I watched Moon last Friday with Ollie (the AD/Cameraman on Just a Game) after borrowing it from the school library (win for free rental!). Ollie had asked me to get something "mentally challenging" and having read in a certain film magazine of the film's mind-bending qualities it seemed an obvious choice.

Moon, directed by Duncan Jones (David Bowie's son), is a film that follows the fortunes of astronaut, Sam Bell, as he completes his three year-long mining mission on the film's namesake. Three years has come with all the baggage one might expect from being stuck on the moon with only a company droid (voiced here by the ever brilliant Kevin Spacey) for company: Sam is pining for his girlfriend (Tess Bell) and daughter (Rosie Shaw/Kaya Scodelario), suffering from mild paranoia and bored out of his mind. Despite this he is optimistic about his imminent return home... until an accident with the machinery reveals a disturbing secret.

Jones as director, whilst really only having one key cast member to work with, is successful in creating a character that we can both love and hate throughout the film but still end up rooting for by the climax. Talking of the climax: the film doesn't really build very well towards it's ending. The pace is generally slow and relaxed, thus representative of Sam's situation and whilst the occasional revelation is used as a distraction from this, it cannot be ignored- not enough info is given that the average viewer can work out Sam's peril until the very last minute. This somewhat secretive approach might easily dissuade anyone other than a patient viewer from a film which otherwise is an extremely successful movie.

Visually it feels very realistic- unlike some of the fantastical visions of the near future seen in other films. This is clearly to aid the viewer in relating to Sam as a character (not an easy thing to do given that no one earth has ever spent three years on their own on the moon). The polished white surfaces and orange lighting work to both create parallels between the base and the International space station and to highlight the sinister feeling given off by the almost-to-good-to-be-true company, Lunar Industries, that employs Sam.

To sum up...

THE LOWDOWN
Pros-
-It is powerful and consistent visually.
-The concept is very interesting and the film almost deserves a watch for this alone.
-Sam Bell is brilliant character that despite his unusual situation can easily be related to.
Cons-
-The peril Sam is actually in is not obvious until very late on.
-Requires patience to get through the long slow periods between action/revelations.

Score: 8/10

And finally this...