Duncan Jones’ 2009 film Moon went largely unnoticed by mainstream audiences, being overshadowed by mega-budget sci-fi releases such as District 9 and Transformers 2.  Even so, Moon made quite a splash among independent film audiences and serious sci-fi fans.  In fact, the film went on to win all kinds of indy awards (including a BAFTA), and became famous for Sam Rockwell’s fantastic performance, one which really tested the depths of Rockwell’s talent. 

In case you haven’t had the pleasure of seeing this film, Moon is about Sam Bell, an astronaut living on the moon who’s job is to harvest a mineral which is used to create clean energy on Earth.  As Sam closes in on the final days of his contract, he encounters a situation which causes him to question everything that he believes to be true.  With the help of GERTY, an artificial intelligence program voiced by Kevin Spacey (essentially the anti-HAL), Bell must figure out exactly what he’s doing on the moon, and how he’s going to make his way back home.

Few science-fiction  films have achieved the depth of character and theme apparent in Moon, and I can’t help but compare Jones’ film to The Man Who Fell to Earth, a movie featuring his father (David Bowie) in a more psychological science-fiction role.  Moon reestablished the style of sci-fi filmmaking prevalent in the 70s, and now it’s available to all Netflix customers on Watch Instantly; so, if you’ve never seen Moon, or if you’d just like to remember the goosebumps you got the first time Sam explored the wrecked moon rover, now’s the time to see it again.  And, hopefully, with the recent success of films like Moon and District 9, we’ll see a return to the world of character-based sci-fi (just as soon as Hollywood gets done with all of these damn superhero movies).

Poor Sam Bell