Weekly Review -- Circle of life

Moon (2009) -- Science fiction stories have always presented a rich platform for existential debates. From 2001: A Space Odyssey to Blade Runner, mankind has never been able to see its potential, trials and tribulations more clearly than while examining them under the lens of fantastical speculation. Subtle and evocative, Duncan Jones's feature debut Moon revolves around the question of our origins and meaning of humanity itself.

**THIS REVIEW CONTAINS HUGE SPOILERS** 

Astronaut Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is ending his three-year Moon mission, where he was tasked with mining for and sending the alternative fuel helium-3 to Earth. One day, following a hallucination, he crashes his lunar rover and is knocked unconscious. Upon waking, he discovers the last thing that he expected to see -- his doppelgänger. Eventually able to work together, the two Sams discover the truth behind their contracts... 

With shades of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Moon operates as a double metaphor, examining the exploitation of humanity by corporate entities while exploring the birth and life cycle. From Monsanto to the media, it seems that the twenty-first century values life in currency and not much else. "Commerce. 'More human than human' is our motto," says Eldon Tyrell in the dystopian classic Blade Runner. Talk about Philip K. Dick having been a visionary. Indeed, in a fictional realm where the Earth's natural resources are depleted to the point that we are colonizing and digging through another world, is it any surprise that we are also "creating" people on an assembly line? We are breeding commerce out of evolution, ignoring the natural order so that our greed can be satiated. It is grotesque that a corporation would be so desperate for workforce as to start generating duplicates of a human being. The sad reality is that, unlike in Jones's film, not all corporations ultimately get their comeuppance and not all people realize that they are being exploited. Sam's story is the tale of millions upon millions of earthlings living under the thumb of corporate empires, understanding their existence, but blinded to their destiny.

The concept of birth and the beginning of life is another theme prevalent in Moon. There are three clones that we see, each with a three-year contract, the multiplication of which equals nine. Considering Sam's realization, could Jones be referring to the nine months that we spend in the womb and the end of the life cycle? After all, Sam keeps pondering his wish to return to Earth and, until he meets the other Sam, is unaware of his mission and unaware that he is not allowed to have experiences. He gives that chance to the other copy, whose arc has just started and who eventually leaves for Earth to unravel the conspiracy to the authorities. Given the ephemeral nature of the characters, the concept of rebirth would also apply. One generation passing the torch to another, a younger generation making the world a better place... it is paradoxically intriguing that Jones successfully shows the relationship and differences between parent and offspring by showing a relationship between replicas. The sheer genius of the last line adds to the need for a new generation to sort Earth's problems out, as much as we should hate leaving them the burden.

There is only one question that needs to be asked as far as the cast goes: how underused is Sam Rockwell? What a poignant, chilling performance. He conveys Sam's weariness and desperation through fatigued body language and sly verbal ironies. He plows through Sam's nostalgia and scorn of his lonely routine with melancholic aplomb, the character's conversations with his family always clashing with his daily isolation. Rockwell makes brilliant, imaginative choices as an actor and the multitude of characters emphasize his improvisational style. There is also a fantastic turn from Kevin Spacey, who lends his voice to GERTY, a soothing computer presence. If HAL 9000 had ever turned to green tea and yoga, perhaps GERTY would be the result. The similarity of the name to one of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial's characters' names is a nice touch, an early hint that Sam is truly an alien, an outsider looking in on his own self. 

An allegory for our tenure on this planet and a warning for the future, Moon is a unique and underrated masterpiece. The film is a hope that we will learn to focus on needs rather than wants in the decades ahead and that hunger for profit will never override the human voice. Finally, it is a hope that we will not have to start looking at the vastness of space to find out about atrocities happening right here, all over our earthly home.

10/10