While it may well be true that in space, no one can hear you scream, the question remains: can they hear you talking to yourself? The isolation of space has long been a thematic construct in the best science fiction. Moon, which stars the gifted actor Sam Rockwell in a virtual one-man show as the lone ‘fire watch’ on a corporate space station on the moon, combines elements of 2001, Silent Running, Robinson Crusoe in Space and the David Bowie classic Space Oddity to craft one of the better sci-fi movies in recent years.

Bowie’s song seems hardly coincidental, as Moon is helmed by his son, Duncan Jones, in a very elegant directorial debut. The gist of the story is that Sam Bell (Rockwell) is in the final days of his contract with Lunar Industries to monitor the company’s operations harvesting the moon’s surface. His only company is the base’s computer, Gerty (voiced in his trademark deadpan by Kevin Spacey), who seems to be the spiritual cousin to Kubrick’s HAL. Bell’s only connection to Earth is via satellite, with which he communicates with his wife back home. His anticipation to return home is palpable, as three years tending plants, building models and eating dehydrating food has increased his sense of isolation. When an accident on the lunar surface hospitalizes Bell, the isolation effectively leads to paranoia, and surprising discoveries about his mission and the company he’s been keeping.

While Moon is effectively the sum of many parts, it is also refreshingly devoid of the sort of cheap shocks that typify science fiction these days (and which slightly derailed Danny Boyle’s otherwise superb Sunshine a couple years back). It’s a thoughtful and moody short story with an impressive array of technical effects to enhance, not overshadow, the themes. Rockwell is, as always, a pleasure to watch and Spacey’s calm intonations prove, once and for all, that his best performances are when we can’t actually see him. – [DVD]

Drama/Mystery/Sci-Fi/Thriller

Rated R

DVD Release Date: 1/12/10

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