Moon (2009 film)

Moon, a 2009 science fiction film, marked Duncan Jones’s first time directing; the screenplay came from Nathan Parker, based on a story Jones had developed. Sam Rockwell plays Sam Bell, a lone worker on the Moon’s far side who, with just two weeks left on a three-year contract mining helium-3, begins to unravel. Supporting roles went to Dominique McElligott, Kaya Scodelario, Benedict Wong, Matt Berry, Malcolm Stewart, and Kevin Spacey. The movie first showed at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, then opened in limited New York and Los Angeles theaters on 12 June 2009. It later expanded across the U.S. on 10 July and reached the U.K. on 17 July. A sequel, *Mute*, which includes an epilogue to *Moon*’s story, came out in 2018, and a graphic novel titled *Madi: Once Upon a Time in the Future* followed in 2020. Made on a modest budget, *Moon* earned just under $10 million globally. Critics received it warmly, especially praising Rockwell’s performance. The film collected numerous critics’ and festival awards, earned a BAFTA nomination for Best British Film, and won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation in 2010.

**Plot** Following a global oil crisis, Lunar Industries profits by operating Sarang Station, a facility on the Moon’s far side that mines the alternative fuel helium-3. The station needs just one person to keep things running and send canisters of helium-3 back to Earth. Sam Bell has two weeks left on his three-year contract. A persistent communications glitch blocks any live contact with Earth, so he can only receive occasional recorded messages from his wife Tess, who was pregnant with their daughter Eve when he left. Sam starts hallucinating—a teenage girl and a disheveled man appear to him. One of these visions distracts him while he’s retrieving a canister, causing him to crash his rover and lose consciousness. He wakes up in the base’s infirmary with no memory of the accident. He notices GERTY, the base’s AI assistant, having a live conversation with Lunar Industries management—despite the supposed communications failure. Management orders Sam to stay put, saying a rescue team will come for repairs. Suspicious, Sam fakes an emergency to get GERTY to let him outside. He reaches the crashed rover and finds his unconscious double. He brings the double back to base, where GERTY treats his injuries.