Moon is an appropriate title for this Sam Rockwell vehicle. It is simple and apparent yet evokes that kind of awe that leads to cocked heads gazing in admiration. Though Moon contains science and fiction and bears the title Moon, like all good sci-fi films, it does not rely on any science fiction elements to get by.

Sam Rockwell’s performance is memorable to say the least; it may well be the best thing he ever does. As an actor, he is given some strange tools to work with in what is essentially a single-hander. He plays his semi-namesake, astronaut Sam Bell; solitarily manning a moon base that looks like it popped out of a 1970s speculative picture book titled ‘Tomorrow’s Future’. Kevin Spacey lends his voice to the dramatic foil AI computer, which is impossible to mention without considering HAL, but Spacey’s adeptly voiced Gerty is no doubt its own machine.

Sam works for a corporation which, we are informed early in the piece, has monopolised the market of the only energy source we’ll ever need; some appropriate-sounding compound found only on the Moon. This corporation is clearly the evil kind, the type doorstopped by some future Michael Moore. Annoyingly, their nefarious purpose is never really examined and Sam’s actual objective is not quite made clear; he seems to largely fulfil the janitorial role of fixing slightly broken machines but at 95 minutes, Moon doesn’t waste much time getting into the narrative action.

Moon does not fly down the so easily accessible horror highway and for that, first-time director Duncan Jones should be respected. At the same time it doesn’t bend in twists and turns at every corner. The drama comes in the form of Sam discovering a conspiracy of sorts. There are pleasant and unpleasant surprises along the way, but the audience is, rather admirably, never toyed with. We are presented with a reasonably straightforward scenario and ultimately we have a highly unusual character drama on our hands. Jones does not tell us a great story but redemption comes with the integrity of the telling, something which Rockwell shoulders magnificently.

Made on a tight budget, Moon uses miniatures in place of today’s ubiquitous CGI, while this gives some scenes a folksy feel, the artistic direction is impressive enough to keep the viewer engrossed. Inside the base, we are shown the same rooms from the same angles a few too many times but a sense of isolation and sterility is definitely there. One thing that did stick out a little was the design of the computer interfaces. They appeared to be updates of the wildly inaccurate predictions of classic 20^th century sci-fi canon rather than extrapolations of what we have today. Yet, they fitted into the universe, and this film’s intent is not to create an intricately perfect moon base but present some straighforward yet difficult philosophical questions.

Though absorbing, this movie is far from perfect and it does not stand in the pantheon of great science fiction cinema. Moon’s biggest weakness is that it is never quite sure of itself, but in today’s age of the ever present clear cut message this isn’t such a bad thing. The film is original and quirky, but it will not spark interest in every audience member. A certain willingness on the part of the viewer is required in order to truly absorb Moon. I was pleased by what I saw, and if you enter the cinema without preconceptions, there is a reflective satisfaction to be had.