Oh, and this is another Mark Pick. He has seen it a number of times. As for me, I think I may have casually watched it half asleep or half drunk back in college; parts of it seem hazily familiar.
Dylan: Now for a little movie called Moon. Let’s see if I can come up with a synopsis that doesn't give too much away. In what we assume is the near future, Sam Rockwell works on the moon, as the lone janitor of a surface mining facility. He has reached the end of his three year contract and is excited about going home to his wife and daughter. The time alone has already effected his grasp on reality, which is further put to the test when he wakes up to find a replica of himself running the facility. It’s a mostly original story, which is something we will discuss...right now.
Mark: Is that my cue to go? Alrighty then, we’ll I’m trying to figure if I want to throw up some [SPOILERS] brackets, but I’ll try to do my best. What I like the most about the movie is how, while it technically revolves around one character, it is actually about two. Or is it the other way around? Damn it, it's just done so well! From start to finish you get so close to Sam Bell because there is no one else beyond his robot companion, GERTY (voiced so well by Kevin Spacey). Throughout the film, you really feel for him as things begin to unravel. Especially -- and this happens within the first twenty odd minutes, so don’t come crying to me about how i ruined anything -- when you finds out he’s been cloned.
Dylan: Well now that the cat is out of the bag...what I found interesting was how combative and disagreeable the two Sams were. I expected them to sort of be in sync, since they are same person dealing with the same situation, and they have a mutual enemy. But instead they were constantly at odds. It was interesting to think that the change was entirely a product of him spending three years alone. The newly-awakened Sam is so much more focused, albeit with somewhat of a temper, while the older Sam is too relieved by the presence of another person to really grasp the grim reality of the situation. And at times it was almost frustrating to see them not getting along.
Mark: Which is why it blows my fucking mind that Sam Rockwell didn’t receive more critical acclaim for his performance in Moon. The way he was able, like you said, to bring to life two different characters, even though they are essentially the same, is amazing. One Sam who thinks he’s been away from civilization for about a week and the Sam who thinks he’s two weeks away from finishing his three year stint on the moon. Each a great performance in its own right. And it gives the films so much more depth, seeing the same thing through the eyes of the same character from essentially two different periods of time.
Dylan: Well enough about character development. One thing on my mind is how much this movie reminds me of 2001: A Space Odyssey. I know you haven’t seen it, and it is one of my favorite films. But I was wondering -- since you might know the answer to this -- is it deliberately trying to pay homage to the genre? A genre that I would have to classify as...'deep-space paranoid mindfuck'?
Mark: Ah yes. The deep-space paranoid mindfuck genre. Such a rich and deep genre of film. But yeah, Jones, while he set out to make an original story with Moon, did draw some of his themes and concepts from other classic Sci-Fi films. You bring up 2001, and yes I haven’t seen it (crucify him! Haha, but seriously don’t.) but there are clear connections. One I noticed is that during scenes of slow, almost benign tasks, there is classical music playing. If you want to speak more to that, please do. But the other, obviously, is Blade Runner. The bleak future that needs the off world mining to help Earth, the potentially dubious company running the entire operation, along with the fact that eastern culture seems to have become more of a norm in this future. Much like Japan having a larger presence in Blade Runner, here it is Korea. But what makes this movie stand out more is that it doesn’t just stand on what the older classics did, rather it molds those well-known aspects into something new for itself.
Dylan: I didn't even notice the Korean thing. But yea, among the connections to 2001, the most obvious was GERTY-3000, a drawl-voiced autonomous robot that controls everything on the ship, and seems to be at odds with the protagonist. Also, at the very end, as Sam heads toward earth, a myriad of colors are flashing on his face, very similar to the sequence at the end of 2001. I am glad you mentioned the music though. I thought the music was really well done. It was subtle, gloomy, creepy, and very simple; it worked perfectly with what was happening on screen. Also, I don’t know what it means, but I immediately picked up on the -- I don’t know the word for it...retro-ness(?) of everything. This is the future. And yet the A.I. is a big, clunky trash can with a tiny screen and a smiley face. Also (and maybe it helps that I saw it on blu-ray) there are a lot of rust and calcium stains near the sink and toilet and what not that contrast with the otherwise stark white walls of the base. Did you notice that stuff?
Mark: Actually, you bring up a lot I wanted to hit on, so I’ll try to not just repeat you. I think what makes this film so brilliant is the music, by Clint Mansell, being so devoid of the unnecessary epic feel, being that it’s really just strings and piano, keeps everything at the same level. It’s a slow movie, taking it’s time to build up the tension and the music does a brilliant job at that. And one of the things about this movie that just seems so amazing in the age of high-techery CGI magic, is that it is almost entirely miniature sets and models. The lunar surface is a massive miniature set, all the outside shots, including the rover moving along the surface, are done with models. There is very little CGI. And this shows how well the movie used the lighting and forced perspective camera shots to make it seem so real. It’s the simplicity of everything involved with this movie that makes you feel so much more invested in this setting. At least for me. Also I’m listening to the score right now.
Dylan: And did you notice the rust and shit?
Mark: Well probably not to the same extent as you as I did not see it on Blu-ray, but yeah, I noticed how the base itself seemed so much older.
Dylan: Yea. It was cool because even though everything is futuristic, and, like I said, whitewashed, it still manages to look sort of dated. So we know that, okay, this guy has been here for three years, but it kind of seems like this place has been here for longer than that. Anyways, I have a couple complaints about the very ending. I though I heard some voice-over news broadcasting...is that suggesting that he returned home and...caused a stir?
Mark: I can answer it in one word. Sequel..ish thing. Ok, so maybe that’s not one word, but yeah, from the end we can assume he made it home. But at some point, in a new story from Jones, we’ll get a kind of epilogue about the story.
Dylan: Huh? He is actually making a sequel?
Mark: Sorta. It won’t be a story about Sam though. He is creating a new story, following a new character on Earth, but it takes place during the same period, so news of Sam Bell will appear. The problem was that financing didn’t happen for the film, called Mute, so he instead went on to do Source Code. So he’s opted to make it into a graphic novel, with the hopes of turning it into a film. (http://screenrant.com/duncan-jones-mute-graphic-novel-movie-schrad-105500/) He just has two other things on his plate.
Dylan: Meh. He’s better off. It looks like near-future sci-fi movies are going to become a new fad. What with Oblivion, After Earth, and Ender’s Game. And those are just the ones that come to mind. Oh and before I forget, this movie reminded me a lot of Sunshine, which is another underrated but original sci-fi mystery story. Maybe we can talk about that one in the future. Overall, Moon was pretty entertaining. The plot, the pacing, etc. I would definitely say it’s worth a second viewing, or at least a first. If you like 2001, Sunshine, or even Pixar's Wall-E, you'll probably enjoy this. What yours verdict?
Mark: True, Sci-Fi is coming back something fierce. I do however hope it happens, but at the very least I’ll be buying the graphic novel. Anything that’s essentially a love letter to Blade Runner is good in my book. And, honestly, this was the fourth time i’ve watched this. So I recommend it like nobody’s business. It’s a brilliantly subtle performance by Sam Rockwell, a beautiful score, and like you said, the pacing with the story is great. Go find it and watch it. Do it.
So, cause I'm gonna make this my thing now, how about some Trivia? Duncan Jones is not his original name. What was it?
Dylan: Uhh...Antoine Fuqua?
Mark: Where did you pull that name from? But, really, not that weird. No, his name was Zowie Bowie. The son of David Bowie. He changed it because he felt his name wouldn’t work too well while trying to make it as a serious director.
Dylan: I would kill for that name.
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And the big reveal for today: Dylan (me) is a Bowie fan. So that's it, Moon, from Duncan Jones. Our next cinematic adventure will involve Sir Ben Kingsley and Ray Winstone as disgruntled British mobsters, in Sexy Beast. Neither of us have seen this one, but everything about it sounds awesome, so let's hope we're not disappointed. Also, it is on Netflix. Especially since it's going to be the first Dylan Pick. "I'm going to a party. I'm already twenty minutes late." Where's the party, you ask? "In space, Bret. In space."
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