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There’s a grassroots campaign underway to get Sam Rockwell an Oscar nomination for his role as Sam Bell in Moon.
It’s been a good long while since I considered the Academy Awards important, but I do believe that I didn’t see another actor come anywhere close to Rockwell’s performance this year. It’s a measure of his craft in Moon that you forget this is basically a one-man show, but it’s also a drawback in terms of Oscar because it tends to be the more showy performances that get the Academy’s attention. And yet, watching the film again with the commentaries and some of the behind-the-scenes footage you realise just how technically perfect Rockwell is.
I was intrigued to hear about how some of the more complicated shots were achieved and its always a pleasant surprise when a movie manages to trick your eye and brain. Where most movies batter the audience in special effects at their cost, Moon has a remarkable number of effects that don’t pull you out of the film. I’d love to force the likes of Roland Emmerich, Michael Bay and James Cameron to watch this movie and then try to justify their ridiculous budgets.
It was a surprise to learn how much of the more complex Sam Bell shots relied on Rockwell nailing and balancing the performances, memorising cues and eye lines and consistently carrying the story almost solo. That alone should be enough for the nomination. That he creates characters that get under your skin and have you thinking of them long after the film finishes is probably wasted on those who make the Oscar decisions.
It’s worth mentioning that this is the same guy who could have just gone off to work with a more established director or make another movie with George Clooney. Small gold statuette or not he deserves kudos for taking a gamble on Moon and giving us something very special.
ps The Moon official website just launched.
wow, thanks for the headsup on this. looks amazing, sorta reminds me of 2001 a little bit in places with a smattering of sunshine and sixth sense stylings. cheers for posting this.
Already signed it! Hope more people will to show their support because this was truly an amazing (set of) performance(s).
You Brits have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to actors, but here in the states it’s easy to see that Sam is pound for pound the greatest American actor of his generation. Hopefully this Oscar season (you know, Summer, Autumn, Winter, Oscars, Spring) he’ll get the notoriety he so richly deserves.
I finally got to see Moon over the Christmas break; had wanted to watch it at the cinema but it got a criminally bad release outside of London, I was looking at the best part of a 50-mile drive to get to see it anywhere “nearby”.
Anyway, after reading Duncan Jones’ press pack from the original website, I pretty much had the underlying premise all worked out in my head, but the way it was handled was completely different to how I thought it was going to be. The trailers had all made me think it was going to be a long drawn out rise of paranoia, with hints and blind alleys scattered all over the place, building up to a reveal near the end; instead the big reveal came right near the start and then you get Sam Rockwell doing what he can to deal with the situation he finds himself in.
As you say, the level of technical performance is superb, especially as it’s maintained throughout most of the film, rather than just a short sequence at the end, which I had expected. I just need to buy the DVD to add to my collection, now, however, buying a house is absolutely crippling where finances are concerned.