Thoughts on Moon
The new film Moon initially caught my interest one soggy afternoon while hounding perusing Matt Berry’s IMDB profile. “Is this it? The long awaited feature follow-up to Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace?” I bubbled as I clicked onwards. No, it’s an indie sci-fi film directed by David Bowie’s son. But I was not disappointed – another sci-fi film is never a bad thing, and it starred Sam Rockwell, one of the best actors of the moment.
Flash forward a year or so and Moon opened in New York and Los Angeles last Friday. I initially wasn’t hopping out of my seat to see it, but yesterday I awoke with a strong desire to go see it.
The film is alright – certainly it had a very small budget, and Matt Berry’s part is literally too small – but it is clearly a labor of love. The sets and effects are all small scale but work to create a realistic and claustrophobic atmosphere. Sam Rockwell is in top form, showcasing his ability to stand on the line of funny and violent, and, without giving too much away, proves he can carry an entire movie acting with only himself.
The story was more functional than I thought (no metaphysical stabs at love and god), and even though I easily guessed what the twist was going to be, I really enjoyed how the film lingered on well after the reveal. All the hallmarks of post-2001-and-Solaris films are there. From the unsettling How-did-another-person-just-appear-in-this-room-oops-they’re-gone to the slower pace and unsettling score (from Clint Mansell, also of The Fountain). And I guess that was my biggest issue with the film – it felt too much like a movie content with being a tribute to the likes of 2001 than trying to be anything of its own.
The same could be said for 2007’s Sunshine, which played out as 2001-meets-Jason X, albeit much better than that sounds. Outside of the realm of the big sci-fi blockbuster franchises (Aliens, Star Wars, Terminators) all of the space-based science fiction films seem to be unable to walk away from 2001. It is funny that as I write this, there is a 2001 poster on my wall, and it is the only film that I own on Blu-Ray. It is an immense and spectacular film that in many ways has created an obstacle for any filmmaker who wants to make serious science fiction.
I will say that while watching this movie my mind did keep traveling back to 2006’s The Fountain. Though I was initially very excited about it, I hated Darren Aronofsky’s film when I saw it, and continue to think that in many ways a failure. Chief among the film’s flaws is Rachel Weisz’s acting – like a generic movie pixie, she blithers about while her glum husband, Hugh Jackman, seeks the key to immortality. But despite my negative reaction, it stuck with me – its visceral imagery and emotion (though ham-fisted) lodged in my mind.
The Fountain is about finding the ability to move on, and as much as I hate to say it, I think we have to move on from 2001. If not, science fiction as a genre will become less about looking forward at what could be than an exercise in looking backward – nodding and winking to styles and ideas that once were.
Tags: 2001, Moon, Sam Rockwell, The Fountain sci-fi
June 24th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
You make several good points. Indeed, the shadow of 2001 is a long one that still hangs over the cinemas. Most directors fear to be compared to that milestone.
In a 1977 Rolling Stone interview, George Lucas was emphatic about not comparing 2001 with his film. Star Wars, he said, was a Space Opera whereas 2001 was true Science Fiction. But is it 2001 or Star Was that is exerting the biggest influence on current film makers?
Star Wars itself was nothing if not a look backwards, to Flash Gordon, and to the classics of Sci Fi literature.
Riddley Scott, after seeing Star Wars, told his agent that he was making the wrong kind of films and he went from the very original Duelists (impeccable costumes) to Alien, Blade Runner and Legend.
In a similar vain JJ Abrams stated that his re-tooling of Star Trek was informed more by Star Wars than by the original Star Trek or any other film.
As for space based films one looks at Outland or Moon 44 and sees there echoes of 2001 but not the rigorous attention to detail that are the hallmarks of Kubrick or Kurosawa. Likewise, Wolfgang Peterson’s Enemy Mine has more to do with Star Wars or Robinson Crusoe on Mars than 2001.
Aliens, while fun, was hardly a sequel to the original Alien but more Cameron’s version of Starship Troopers. Similarly, Event Horizon was more influenced by the mythology of the Warhammer 40K games from Games Workshop than by 2001.
One might make the case for the film Andromeda Strain as one that moved on from 2001 yet retained the latter’s adherence to scientific fact informing fictional story. Although there is only a little action in space per se it is Science Fiction of the first order.
I think your point is well taken. As I run through the Sci-Fi films that I have seen over the years most have been backward glances if not out and out remakes. And the future looks grim indeed with remakes planned of Forbidden Planet, Creature From The Black Lagoon, and Dune one more time. It leads one to speculate if someone, somewhere, in a studio boardroom is right now pitching a re-make of 2001 itself.
The gods look down and laugh.