Warning: Brace yourself for a sickening display of cinematic affection.

As far as movies based on lunar missions go Moon is up there with the best of them. With only one man and a computer voiced by Kevin Spacey, this is a film that blows the dust away from the sci-fi genre.

This is movie that not only pays homage to the likes of Blade Runner and 2001: A Space Odyssey but also turns expectations and marks itself as a visionary exploration on what it means to be human.

It is helped in no small way by Sam Rockwell, here playing the aptly named Sam. The film relies completely on his performance and if you are familiar with Rockwell then it comes at no surprise that his enigmatic screen presence makes Moon not only absorbing but also completely believable. Dealing with agoraphobia, mortality and paranoia, Rockwell never falters in his portrayal, and further cements himself as one of the best ‘oh, I recognise him from something’ actors out there.

What helps the film is its sheer restraint to be anything bordering on mainstream. One time Zowie Bowie (son of David) Duncan Jones directs the film with care and passion. Not relying on computer generated effects – something that has become a prerequisite of modern sci-fi – and instead using practical methods of creating an environment that not only looks startling (and not just in crisp high definition) but also adds a layer of authenticity often lacking in today’s cinema.

This method also helps you feel connected to the environment and helping to add to the unsettling nature of the picture. When Sam falls deeper into the mystery surrounding an accident, we are never sure what is real and what isn’t. Can we truly believe a narrator who seems to be both mentally and physically deteriorating before our eyes? The film constantly makes you question what is going on, leaving the audience constantly in the dark – a brave decision in an impatient age.

As the pieces of the puzzle fall into place then it becomes clear that each twist and turn has been clever crafted and the story forms together to create something truly memorable. It may be compared to the likes of Blade Runner but as far as intricate storytelling then it is on a par with recent directional debuts such as Christopher Nolan’s Memento and Richard Kelly’s Donnie Darko.

Much like the aforementioned it takes the genre to new levels, often by making the ideas big and the storytelling simple – Something that Hollywood seems to have forgotten to do.

The Blu-ray release delves deeper into the process, featuring commentaries with Duncan Jones, Q&A sessions and behind the scenes footage. The only thing it lacks is major input from Rockwell. Still, you can’t ask much more than a high definition package that makes a visionary film truly visually spectacular.

Hecklerspray rating: 4/5

Now pardon us for our break in usual Hecklerspray cynicism so now enjoy a return to our normal programming…

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This week’s half full and half empty.

Folded:

• Moon (strange Sam Rockwell, watchable as ever)
• Plaid shirts (classic style anonymity. Buy a padded one to look like a window cleaner)
• When Eight Bells Toll (the youngest you’ve ever seen Anthony Hopkins. If you’re off sick this is bound to be on Film4. It’ll really pass the time too)
• Omega Seamaster watch (you can’t afford one, but no-one will know when you stare through the jewellers’ window)
• Autumn video games (Modern Warfare 2, Splinter Cell: Conviction, Uncharted 2, Alpha Protocol, etc – prepare to have your pockets lightened)

Creased:

• Brüno (when cringeworthy stops being funny)
• Swine flu inevitability (had the bug yet? It’s getting to the ‘everyone knows somebody’ stage now)
• Guys who refer to their wives or girlfriends as ‘er indoors’ (they probably say ‘aye’ a lot too)
• Crunches (the most miserable sounding exercise ever. Going on the beach? Just wear a vest or something)
• Waiting for autumn video games (you’d never know it because of the damn unpredictable weather but we’ve only just started August)

Intelligent sci-fi is for gimps.

This film could have been about going mad on an island, a mountain or even the comfort of your own home… but no, they had to take you to the Moon.

Sam Rockwell comes into shot, and soon you find yourself wishing that you were somewhere else. Sam, also named Sam in the film is an astronaut under a three-year mining contract that lands him on the surface of the moon. Satellite communications are shot and he can only receive transmissions via tape.

His only friends are routine and a talking computer that cuts his hair. Two weeks before the end of the contract, he finds a derelict ship that contains a clone. Hallucinations begin to mount and nothing is really as it seems. Fascinating stuff.

[story by Alex de Moller]

Then something happens that picks you up, makes you happy again and fills you with a beaming smile that somehow manages to envelop your entire body, filling your whole physical presence with joy from head to toe.

Take, for example, when a UFO sighting was reported somewhere in Wales, and this police radio conversation was conducted:

Control: "Alpha Zulu 20, this object in the sky, did anyone have a look at it?"

Officer: "Yes, it's the Moon. Over."

hecklerspray loves you, Wales.

Original Story (BBC)