Moon

A frequent theme of the original "Twilight Zone" series was the danger of isolation.  The very first episode deals with an astronaut who returns to a small town only to find everyone is missing.  As it turns out the astronaut is still asleep and undergoing a test to see how long it takes someone to crack.  The point of the episodes was that the human psyche is fragile and extended periods of loneliness would cause it to break.

This same device is used in "Moon."  The story involves a lone man named Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) who is working on Earth's moon, overseeing the mining of a material that is converted into energy to power the Earth.  Big combine-like machines called harvesters till the soil while Sam monitors them from his base and occasionally fixes them with the help of the computer system known as Gerty (voice of Kevin Spacey) that also tends to Sam's needs.

Sam's contract calls for him to be there for three years, after which he will return home to his wife Tess and toddler Eve.  But with two weeks left to go, Sam starts showing signs of cracking.  He has headaches, he sees things that might not be there, and he has trouble focusing.  This leads him to crash his rover into one of the harvesters.  When he comes to back in the infirmary, Gerty tells him that he'll be OK.  But Sam suspects something is up.  Is he right?  Or has he finally cracked?

I thought the movie would be more psychological like "2001:  A Space Odyssey" or "Solaris."  It's a little more straight-ahead than those and certainly not nearly as dense as 2001.  Instead of a psychological thriller it's more of a mystery as Sam tries to figure out what's going on with the base and the company.  I don't want to spoil anything, but I will tell you that Gerty is sort of a red herring.

If you're more into the thrill-ride type of sci-fi movies like "Star Trek" or "Avatar" then this probably is too slow for you.  If you're a fan of the old "Twilight Zone" or "Solaris" or "2001" then this is more up your alley.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  On a side note, Sam Rockwell seems like one of the most underrated actors around.  There's nothing I've seen him in that I haven't enjoyed.  Maybe now that he's co-starring in "Iron Man 2" he'll get his due.

That is all.

My score:  75/100 (3 stars)

Metacritic score:  67/100 (2.5 stars)