ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies

THE SCIENCE fiction fantasy has been hijacked by the special-effects wizards. Ever since the success of Star Wars, we have come to expect epic battles, gruesome alien creatures and space craft the size of a skyscraper.

Moon is a smart, intriguing attempt to take the genre back to its roots and re-discover the human element of the space race. One of the discoveries of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Moon marks a very impressive feature debut from Duncan Jones, the son of David Bowie.

Moon has elements of 2001 and Silent Running in the story of Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), an astronaut working on the far side of the moon. He is a caretaker for a corporation whose machines are harvesting Helium 3 to satisfy earth’s energy needs.

Sam’s only company is a computer called Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey). He has two weeks left to run on his three-year contract and cannot wait to return home and be reunited with his wife and daughter. Venturing out to repair one of the helium-harvesting-machines, Sam crashes. When he awakens he is to discover some of the sinister truths behind his mission.

Moon is a film that could be spoilt by knowing too much of the plot in advance. It is a melancholy, low-key exploration of loneliness that becomes increasingly touching the more we discover about Sam’s plight.

Sam Rockwell is never off screen, and gives a bravura performance as the isolated, paranoid mining operative. And yes, there are even special-effects, but ones that are modest and absolutely essential to the plot.

Ultimately, Moon is a spellbinding exercise in old-fashioned storytelling that has a far greater impact than a big budget colossus like Transformers.

Nationwide release

Director: Duncan Jones
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Dominique McElligott, Kaya Scodelario, Benedict Wong, Matt Berry
Screenwriters: Nathan Parker
Certificate: 15
Running time: 97 mins
Country: UK
Year: 2008