xoxoxo e: moon

Friday, November 05, 2010

moon

Sam Rockwell has long been one of my favorite actors. He continues to fly under the radar, which I don't quite understand. I recently caught Moon on cable and was just blown away. It is fascinating, funny, scary and creepy. It is reverent and referential to movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey, while managing to be so much more interesting and entertaining, and Solaris, while staying squarely in the character's head. Or does it?

I feel a little strange all the time, a little bit off-center. I never feel that people are as nutty as me.

Moon is a tour-de-force for Rockwell, who gets almost 100% screen time. And he's never boring. His only other "other" companion up on his moon base is a robot, ably voiced by Kevin Spacey. Spacey almost makes the viewer and Rockwell's character feel a little less alone. Almost. Without giving too much away, suffice it to say that Moon doesn't just tell the story of one astro-worker, but of his existence and the force of personality. When one is alone for months, years on end, not participating in life on earth, can one still be of the earth? Can you grow as a person when you're in an isolation tank?

Is Rockwell's life all in his head, making this a purely psychological thriller, or is this a science fiction film not in setting only? And by the way, the moon landscape, the few times Rockwell's character gets to escape from his base, is stunning to look at. Miniatures are still cool on film.

I have a constant sort of melancholy approach to acting that fuels me. I want to do everything.

I completely recommend Moon, along with its Rockwell moon. And the man can DANCE.

I did the odd bit of theater from the age of ten, but I spent most of my time doing the usual teenage things - you know, thinking I was black, trying to break dance and smoking a lot of dope.

He's charm on two legs.