Some of the best futuristic films employ one of the oldest technologies in the world to drive their plot: mining dirt for profit.
“Avatar” is the latest and most over-the- top example, of course, in both execution and result. “Alien” was a more horrifying example; “Outland,” with Sean Connery, is an overlooked space-mining gem.
New to the colonizing category is last year’s “Moon,” an indie film that won great praise while taking in only $5 million at the box office. “Moon” is a spooky, well-constructed science fiction tableaux that pays quiet homage to “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Alien” and other great films.
A quick note on the language — the film’s R rating is for some salty swearing, which seems only natural from an astronaut stuck alone in a space station for three years and royally hosed by his mining-company employers. For families, it’s a teenage movie, not a space-hamster frolic for your youngsters.
Sam Rockwell plays our hero — can you win more than one acting award when your character is a clone? He’s nearing the end of his solo three-year stint, where he monitors remote mining trucks that collect clean energy from moon rocks and ships it back to a polluted Earth. He’s going a bit batty, it seems, hallucinating a teenager onboard that may or may not be his daughter and fighting with corporate about broken videophone connections.
You’d be right to assume these signs are ominous. Less obvious is the role of the intelligent station computer, Gerty, voiced by Kevin Spacey in clear tribute to Hal in “2001.” Gerty seems to genuinely like astronaut Sam, but corporate may control his circuits. You’ll have to watch to find out the truth.
First-time director Duncan Jones creates a moody, believable outpost on a very low budget. Like all the best space movies, the “Moon” station is both claustrophobic and monumental. The result is an intriguing drama kept to a watchable 97 minutes.
Rated: R, for f-bomb-laced profanity and limited, plot-appropriate gore.
Best suited for: Dads and teens with a bent for science fiction movies, old and new.
