On the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission that placed two people on the surface of the Moon for the first time, we saw Moon, a refreshingly thoughtful science fiction film. My wife, who swears off science fiction categorically, saw it accidentally (thinking it was a different movie altogether, and I confess I did not go out of my way to clarify things before we saw it) and actually liked it. Set in the not-too-distant future, Moon takes place at a nearly automated mining facility on the far side of the Moon. The station is manned by a single person, Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), and a computer with a number of robotic elements named GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey).

At the start of the movie, Sam is two weeks away from the end of a three-year deployment to the mining base, and is anxious to get home to his wife and young daughter. But he is having trouble concentrating and is distracted by hallucinations. Then, an accident on the surface of the Moon while servicing one of the robotic mining machines, threatens his return. I hesitate to say much more about the plot, because it is not possible to do so without revealing critical elements that are best if discovered while watching the movie. Instead I will say that it is a movie about identity and sacrifice, and features a fine performance from Rockwell who plays Sam with a broad range of subtle inflections.

There are a number of nice details in the movie. GERTY’s display shows bright yellow emoticons (smiley face, frown, puzzled, and even a tear) instead of the ominous red lens of Hal. The base looks grungy and lived-in, appropriate for a mining base. The lunar surface is starkly realistic. The Moon’s weak gravity is ignored, however, as an inconvenience to film-making, so for the most part Sam bounds around in obvious 1-g conditions. Big deal. That is not what the movie is about. Nor is the feasibility of free energy in the form of Helium-3 implanted in the lunar soil an issue worth arguing about. Moon, like most good science fiction, makes use of the freedoms afforded it by science fiction to explore the human condition. It is the second movie directed by Duncan Jones, who also wrote the story with Nathan Parker. It shows a professional and polished touch.