By Amy Goldwasser, RED's editor, reporting from New York City on an excellent new-but-old-school sci-fi film
I usually leave these RED Hearts to the book's authors. But it's summer, work is slow, and I'm over the, um, moon about this one and can't resist spreading the word on earth.
Moon is an amazing new sci-fi film that could just as well be an old sci-fi film—and I mean that in the best way. In the tradition of the space greats, like Silent Running, Outland, and the original Alien, Moon relies on human psychological drama over surround-sound explosions for its thrills; cool miniature modeling over computer-generated animation for its lunar craft; and the chilling evil of a not-too-distant corporation over gooey aliens as its baddies.
I don't want to give any of the plot away here, and it's easily done. So I'm just going to tell you it's about identity and what it means to be human—and that it's not boring for a moment, even though you're looking at only one actor on the dark side of the moon the whole time, however great Sam Rockwell is. (Kevin Spacey is technically his co-star, but he's unseen as the voice behind a robot named Gerty.)
I went to a screening where the director, Duncan Jones, did a Q+A afterwards. He's young and smart and thoughtful—plus, cute and British and David Bowie's son, though he won't tell you that—and relying on word of mouth to help spread the word about his low-budget (that's $5 million in studio terms) masterpiece.
So, please: go see it when it opens near you, tell your friends, and let's hope that this is the future of sci-fi. —Amy Goldwasser