MOON —★★★ — Sam Rockwell, and featuring the voice of Kevin Spacey; rated R (profanity, violence, gore, brief sex, brief partial nudity, brief drugs, vulgarity); Broadway Centre, District
It's a good thing our enjoyment of "Moon" doesn't depend on being shocked by the plot twist that occurs about midway through the movie.
That bit of story machination is actually pretty easy to figure out. Especially for anyone who's paying close attention to the dialogue.
What makes this science-fiction/thriller really work, though, is that it favors a more cerebral style of storytelling. There are clear nods to such sci-fi classics as "2001: A Space Odyssey."
It's also very well-acted. Sam Rockwell stars as Sam Bell, a lunar miner who collects valuable elements from moon rocks. (In this society, the Earth uses a new form of helium as an energy source.)
Sam has a three-year work commitment there. Then he can return home to his wife, Tess (Dominique McElligott), and young daughter.
However, it's a one-man operation, and Sam's only companion is a helpful robot named GERTY (the voice of Kevin Spacey).
And GERTY is starting to question whether Sam is slowly losing his grip on reality, thanks to the terrible isolation of the job.
That's really as much as can be said about the plot, without spoiling the supposed "twist." Co-screenwriter/director Duncan Jones is smart enough to introduce elements of Sam's back story, so we get to know this character.
Of course, it doesn't hurt that it's the always watchable Rockwell who plays Sam. His on-the-edge performance suggests that the character may be unhinged. But he's also likable and sympathetic.
And kudos to Jones (the son of rocker David Bowie), for his minimalist style of filmmaking. The visual effects include convincing miniatures and models, rather than the less-organic and gimmicky, computer-generated imagery favored by big-budgeted Hollywood productions.
"Moon" is rated R and features strong sexual language (profanity and other suggestive references), some brief strong violence (vehicular mayhem and some fisticuffs and crawling, as well as an accidental stabbing), some blood and gore, a brief but fairly discreet sex scene, brief partial male nudity, brief drug references (painkillers and pharmaceuticals), and some other off-color language (slang). Running time: 97 minutes.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com