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Sam Rockwell’s Iconic Performance in Moon (2009) – Why Was It Terrific?

2009 was a good year for science fiction movies, with big hits dropping from famous franchises like X-Men, Transformers, Star Trek and Avatar. Amid the surging wave of well-known names, Moon came out in a limited release. Although it did not have the same level of publicity as the blockbusters, it proved to be one of the most thought-provoking movies of the year. Duncan Jones did a unique and original job as the filmmaker, with the iconic performance of Sam Rockwell amid the endless space as the highlight.

Introducing Sam Rockwell: The actor with a difference

Known for his expertise in eccentric and offbeat characterizations, Sam Rockwell is an American actor who has gained respect for impeccable performances in various films.

  • Starting his career as a William Esper studio actor, he went on to work in independent movies. 
  • His big breakthrough was performing as an eccentric free spirit in Box of Moonlight (1996), which gained him widespread attention as an actor.
  • Playing both leading and supporting roles in various thrilling movies, he finally took the part of a lone space astronaut wandering in space for three years on the Moon (2009).

Why Sam Rockwell’s Moon performance was terrific

When it comes to sci-fi movies, acting has to be top-notch to make up for the near-surreal elements removed from our day-to-day soap-accustomed audiences. Removed from the realm of domestic scenes, the actors have to bring out the grand fantasies beyond reality. 

This is exactly what Rockwell helped to bring out in Moon with his iconic portrayal of Sam Bell. Filmmaker Duncan Jones was aided by Rockwell who pulled off almost a solo show.

  • Rockwell’s character, Sam Bell, is an employee of Lunar Industries. He is under a 3-year contract for extracting Helium-3 from the surface of the moon. It is a natural gas that will provide much-needed clean energy sources back on Earth. What is more, he is going on a completely long journey to space. His only interaction with humans is through the messages he gets from his wife and infant daughter, and his superiors who are communicating to check his progress. 
  • In itself, this kind of character is very challenging to play. It consists of loads of screen time, very few supporting actors to play off, and almost none on a physical level in the same screen space. Rockwell does a superb job of keeping the audience on edge throughout the movie’s running time.
  • While doing his daily work on the Land Rover, Sam crashes and is knocked into unconsciousness. After he comes back into consciousness, he is back in the lunar base but he cannot remember how he got back there. He also ends up having a hallucination of a little girl whom he does not know. Quite a few things happen where he goes outside the base and then back to the harvester to find a person barely alive. To his surprise, that person is himself. 
  • This shocking revelation brings the character to a crescendo of emotion and Rockwell does an amazing job at the portrayal, making the movie reach a crescendo along with his expressions. It prompts the audience to ask themselves several thrilling, chilling questions – how would I feel if I woke up one day to find that I am not the only one I thought I was? Would I go on with my life if I found that I was nothing but a copy of another person? And how long can I keep a secret before it gets out, causing tremendous chaos in my reality and existence? 
  • As sci-fi is only a heightened and symbolic spectacle reflecting reality on deep levels, so is Moon. Rockwell’s performance as Sam Bell beautifully brings out how scientists can speculate endlessly about human evolution, but cannot control their impulses. Rockwell portrays the eternal resilience of the human spirit as it breaks through suppression into an uncontainable reality.

Conclusion

Rockwell delivers a challenging role with absolute grace as he is essentially acting opposite himself. He makes it look almost surreal by the way he brings out so much thrill in the plot by playing off himself. Even after doing so, he makes it look natural as if it were a scene between two opposite characters. With Moon, Rockwell proves his exceptional artistic caliber outside of the general bad guys or heavyweights he plays in mainstream cinema.

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