Moon

Finally, finally I got around to watching Moon last Wednesday. Lauded by all as the best science fiction film of 2009 and a throwback to the pensive and introspective science fiction films of the 1970s - it was impossible to not be excited.

There were so many things about this film that I loved. The background music sent me straight into that world of 1970s science fiction like Dark Star or Westworld. The throwback special effects that use actual models for the station and rovers on the moon reminded me of Red Dwarf and an age when science fiction had to rely on stories and characters over whiz-bang CGI. Most of all though, I was captivated by the performance of Sam Rockwell; who plays a man running a mineral production facility on the moon all by himself. It is a lonely job but one in which he is kept sane by the promise of a fat pay cheque and imminent return to Earth when we will be re-united with his wife. It is also a necessary job, made so by the Earth’s endless demand for new and cheap energy sources.

It's a simple premise, one which allows a quite brilliant story to shine. It is hardly a spoiler to state it - since it happens only 20 minutes into the film - so I shall reveal that the science fiction revolves around the main character discovering a second person identical to himself on the moon base. In lesser films this would have been a 'big reveal' moment that required orchestral music and a montage of flashbacks, here though it is an open invitation to explore the psychology of a character who has to deal with this insane situation - and slowly realise what his discovery means for his own life.

The film has a chillingly creepy performance by Kevin Spacey as the voice of the robot that wanders around the moon base helping Sam out (the character played by Rockwell is conveniently called Sam). There was something about the simplicity of the smiley / sad face that this robot uses to express 'emotions' that gave it equal parts terrifying machine-like efficiency and touchingly humanity - a great touch by the set designers. The ease with which the robot keeps Sam in the dark about certain truths while at the same time seeming to genuinely care for his welfare is reminiscent of some king of Orwellian nanny state - all needs accounted for, all fears and emotions mollified.

The film ends up being about sacrifice, secrets and facing up to an untimely unwanted future. Sam Rockwell acts his socks off in scenes where he is talking to himself. Watching the DVD extras afterwards revealed to me that he used to memorise each performance listening to himself on headphones before running through the scene again as the 'other' him. The result is genuinely affecting.

On my original friedgold.co.uk website (still up and running if you fancy a glimpse into my fairly recent past) I used a rating system in which good films got 6/10 and great films got 8/10. I would reserve the hallowed 10/10 for films that were genuine classics, genre-defining or otherwise notable beyond the normal situation in which one would label a film 'great'. I think I only gave a handful of films 10/10 over the course of about 5 years.

Moon - 10/10

The Road - bleak

Old Viggo Mortensen has to be applauded for what he has done to his career since Lord of the Rings. It would have been so easy to go down the Orlando Bloom route of using his new-found stardom to earn piles of cash in a series of god-awful Holywood action tripe-fests; instead he is using his currency as a star earn himself roles in a series intelligent modern mini classics. 'Eastern Promises', 'Good' and now 'The Road' - all films in which the ability to act has been a requirement rather than an added bonus. Viggo has shown himself to fit into the roles demanded of him with ease.

So we know that Viggo's awesome, what of this new film. It's the story of a man and his son, and their journey across an apocalypse-ravaged landscape in search of survival. It's a bleak place with no animals, few plants and where a simple can of coke is a luxury to be treasured. In flashbacks we see glimpses of the man's life before the end of civilisation, moments with his wife and their son before they were separated for good.

The flashbacks posed more questions than they answered though. For example Viggo runs a bath of water when he hears noises and fires outside their house. Now, any survivalist worth his salt will tell you that the first thing you do when the end comes is to horde as much water as you can before the pumps stop working - clever Viggo. But then literally all that's happened to prompt him is some noises and a fire outside his house. Does he react like this every time there's something unsettling going on in his street? Must be a nightmare for the neighbours. So perhaps his character had prior knowledge that the end might be coming? Perhaps that's why he seems to have survived so long after the end? Perhaps there's a sordid back story? Answers to these questions are never forthcoming.

This is a grim film, one in which there clearly isn't going to be a satisfying or overtly 'happily ever after' ending. We don't get anywhere near finding out how much hope is left in the world, indeed we don't even get to find out what it is that caused the apocalypse (although the possible effects of a nuclear holocaust are hinted at). This was satisfying, since it meant that the film focussed entirely on the drama of the man, his son and the people they encounter on their travels, rather than looking at the bigger picture of what was going on in the world. Everything that happens is a picture of hopelessness, of how humanity could turn in on itself if the thin veneer of civilisation was suddenly no longer present.

But then, after all that there is an ever-so-slight glimmer of hope at the end of the film. It's almost as if the cynicism of the past is being washed away by the cleansing affect of the apocalypse. An odd sentiment I know, but it's difficult to describe what I thought about the ending without giving too much away (not that there's much in the way of a twist of course). Probably not essential that you see it in the cinema, but certainly worth a 100 minute investment to see a couple of fantastic acting performances.

Paranormal Activity - Things that go bump...

The hype surrounding this film has been claiming that it is the scariest of all time. Reviews and reviewers are clambering over each other to tell us how they've been unable to sleep since watching the film and that they were literally falling out of their chairs with terror while it was on. Pretty strong stuff, so I went into the cinema with a little trepidation. I rarely jump or get overly frightened by horror films, so I was naturally worried that I might get all wussy with this one – it's a macho thing I think.

Paranormal Activity is a very effective movie, one in which sound and subtle changes in character and ambiance create a terrifying atmosphere. The plot revolves around a couple who live in a house and live with night terrors, the boyfriend decides to film their experiences to record and document the paranormal activity. The girlfriend tells stories of her past in which she has been haunted by demons and calls in a psychic to diagnose her problems. As her boyfriend starts to take matters seriously and begins to call the demon out, the paranormal activity gets worse. From noises to footprints and then to physical presences, we never get to see what's causing the hauntings, but it's impact is constantly present and terrifying.

'Paranormal Activity' is only 80 minutes long, but it has no need to be any longer. The payoff at the end of the film is suitably subtle and unnerving, a fitting end to a film that has been made in the same vein.

It didn't stop me sleeping or have me jumping out of my seat, but 'Paranormal Activity' certainly is one of the most unsettling and effective horror films I have seen in a long time.

The Best Films of 2009

I was going to do this ages ago, but various things got in the way and so it has had to wait until I am at a loose end. A snowy day when I'm 'working at home' is about as loose an end as I can muster, so here it is - my top 5 films of 2009...

5 - An Education
A young girl comes of age at the start of the swinging sixties and learns a lot about life, people, men and her own future in a short space of time. A brilliant performance from Carey Mulligan underlines this touching drama - although the ending could have been a little tighter.

4 - Zombieland
Comedy of the year is Zombieland. Daftness and poignancy go together so well when the script is right, such as it is here. Plus there's the bit with Bill Murray - officially very funny.

3 - Slumdog Millionaire
It may be 12 months now since I saw Slumdog, but the vibrancy of the direction in the film is still with me. I can still remember the moment when I was in the cinema and realised that all the co-incidences that allow Jamal to know all the answers to the show's questions were not irritating plot points - rather they were part of some wonderful fairy tale. The answer to the film's final question - how come this Slumdog can know all the answers to these questions - gives me a warm glow every time I remember it; the answer is 'D: It is written'.

2 - District 9
Sadly I have didn't get around to seeing 'Moon' in 2009 (I have the DVD now though), so Sci Fi of the year goes deservedly to 'District 9'. It is filled with metaphors for South Africa's apartheid past and the difficulties the nation faces in the modern age, as such the film gets away with being part action blockbuster, part documentary and part political satire.

1 - In The Loop
It was a tough call, but for me 'In The Loop's' mix of sweary comedy and biting satire had enough to make it stand out as my film of the year. It pointed out that political conspiracies do not imply smoke-filled rooms of people trying to fake the moon landings, rather they can be real things in which people are simply trying to further their careers by doing what they think their bosses expect. Plus there's all the swearing, here's a quick clip just in case you've forgotten.



So that's 3 out of 5 British films (well, Slumdog was directed by a Briton), who says the British film industry is dead?!