Monsters (Gareth Edwards, 2010) [Netflix Watch Instantly]

In the last few years, science fiction has been going through a real revival, a revival of science fiction for "adults." And when I say "for adults," that doesn't necessarily mean gratuitous sex and skin either. It means there have been a number of intelligent, well made films with guts and heart that rely on narratives based in science fiction. There's been more to these films than giant robots, computers taking over the world or aliens blowing up buildings. I like giant robots, computers threatening humanity and alien destruction on film as much as anyone else, but I like variety even more, and that's what these films have been giving us, a wider variety under the very large umbrella that is science fiction.

Gareth Edwards Monsters is another film adding some adult perspective to the wide world of science fiction. Though the narrative does have some elements surrounding alien invasion, this isn't about our hero's saving the earth from the invading hordes. Instead, it's much more a road movie about two people who are lost in more than the journey they're undertaking as part of the film, but lost in the larger sense as well.

The film tells the story of a photojournalist, Andrew Kaulder (played by Scoot McNairy, a name I find infinitely amusing) making his way across South America, documenting the results of a NASA probe having returned and crashed with an alien life form attached to it. These aliens have multiplied and are wreaking havoc across a wide swath of territory, stretching from what would have been northern most Mexico on down. The area where the creatures are most populated has been labeled The Infected Zone, just south of the United States border, and our intrepid photographer is headed in that direction hoping to score the kind of picture that pays the bills for a long time.

But, as always... there's a snag. In a call home to the publisher he plans to sell these pictures to, he's informed that the daughter of the man who owns the publishing company is trapped in Mexico, and needs to be sent home. Of course, this is not what Kaulder had in mind when heading south of the border, and isn't interested in babysitting while he's trying to find his get rich quick pic. Unfortunately for him, when the owner of the major publishing conglomerate is asking to have his daughter returned home safely, he's obliged to help. Samantha Wynden is our titular damsel in distress (played by Whitney Able). From there, our protagonists set off on a journey to get Samantha safely back into the U.S, which of course, doesn't go exactly as planned.

The short version of the story is that I really enjoyed this film. What is probably my favorite aspect of the film is that the characters are extremely well written, conceived and drawn. Too often (and especially in genre films) the characters seem to be plot devices. They don't seem like people who have an entire life's history that is coming with them to the story that's playing out in the film. In Monsters, the fact that the characters very obviously have a much larger story than this one specific episode in their lives, is one of it's most interesting aspects, resulting in a feeling of discovery permeating the entire film. We're discovering things about these characters as they're discovering them about each other and themselves, but most of it is done in such a simple way that it feels organic and much more akin to what it's like to actually get to know people, instead of having character elements lumped together or thrown at the audience to give the appearance of character development where there actually wasn't any. That journey, and that sense of discovery are central to the film, and the geographic journey they're taking is almost secondary, but it also adds to the sense of discovery and wonder that the great acting and character work create.

Another interesting aspect of the film, and one that is truly unusual, is the portrayal of these alien creatures. This isn't an alien army attempting to take control of the planet or to conquer humanity in order to enslave them. It's much more a matter of simple Darwinian theory. These creatures are much more animal-like than what we're used to in a science fiction narrative. There is no sweeping strategy or plot. They've just landed on a planet with a favorable environment, and are doing the things that life forms do in that situation, eating, reproducing, protecting territory etc. They're not even particularly interested in eating humans, so they're not horror movie monsters in any way. They're just doing what animals all over the planet have always done, and as has been true with so many other species, that puts them in competition with humans for both territory and resources. Gareth Edwards, in both writing and directing the film, manages to walk a very fine line with real grace. The creatures are at points terrifying and at other points objects of wonder. Think Jurassic Park if the dinosaurs weren't trying to eat people, but were still trying to get out of the park and be dinosaurs, doing what dinosaurs do, while people were trying to stop them and you might start to get a handle on the way Edwards "monsters" are portrayed.

The cinematography in the film is gorgeous. Again, it's Gareth Edwards who deserves the credit for this, as he's actually also the cinematographer on the film. There are some wide shots during a river sequence in the film that immediately call to mind the most hauntingly beautiful shots in Apocalypse Now, and even in the more intimate close ups and "one shots" of the actors are awesome, giving those scenes a quality that is extremely intimate, but gorgeous at the same time. Edwards camera work is as good as his writing and his directing. He's also responsible for the special effects, which for a low budget indie are fantastic. His IMDB page suggests that prior to Monsters he's been doing work in television, which almost seems like a waste of talent. The number of roles he's taken on to make this movie, and produce something this good is somewhat mind boggling. Then again, with this amount of talent, anyone who's looking to produce great content should be willing to pay this guy to do basically whatever he wants.

Both Whitney Able and Scoot McNairy are very good as the protagonists, and I wouldn't be shocked to see either of them starting to pick up smaller roles in bigger Hollywood films very soon. Because this isn't a science fiction, special effects extravaganza, and the narrative is so personal in nature, the organic quality and very real nature they bring to both of their characters is another big part of what makes the films so successful. In some ways, it's almost as if Monsters is what you get when mumble core meets meets Hollywood style science fiction bonanza's, and as in mumble core, the degree of charisma and grounded-ness of the characters and the actors portrayal of them is central to any success the film hopes to have. The film works as well as it does because these characters and their story is the central aspect of the film, and the more fantastic elements are just a part of these two people's lives at this particular point in time, giving the entire film a feeling of being in a world that actually could exist and the narrative a kind of cohesive nature that isn't normally found in high concept film making. Just because these alien creatures are wondering around the planet, doesn't mean humans stop acting like humans and doing the things humans have always done. Everyday life isn't at a stand still, which is part of the films charm.

All in all, I can recommend this to just about anyone, but especially to people who have enjoyed some of the more intelligent and adult science fiction films of the last decade. This isn't as flashy and exciting as District 9, but it's not as cerebral as Moon (my review) or as pulpy and shocking as Splice (my review). It is very much it's own film, with it's own story to tell and it's own way of telling it. What it does have in common with those films is the fundamental humanity at it's core that they have all addressed in very different, but effective and entertaining ways.

Moon (2009, directed by Duncan Jones)

Some of the most thought provoking, powerfully human, beautiful, entertaining, haunting, and heart breaking works of fiction I've ever seen on film or read have been science fiction stories. 

There's something about science fiction that seems to be more well suited to adeptly capture so many elements of what it is to be and the experience of being human than any other genre of fiction. I may have a soft spot in my heart for horror films, a kind of gooey, giddy, unfettered, sloppy teenage romance with horror films that's continued into my adult years, but good science fiction gets my admiration and respect. Added to that, film seems as if it were almost specifically created for science fiction story telling. Few genres are served as perfectly by a visual medium.

I feel that way because of films like Moon. Directed by Duncan Jones and starring Sam Rockwell, this is excellent science fiction. I'd wager it will be considered a classic, and part of the cannon of "must see" science fiction films. It's hard to say much about Moon without spoiling the experience for people who haven't  seen it. I'd absolutely suggest that if you haven't seen Moon you go into it knowing as little as possible about it. That being said, I knew more about it than I probably should have, and obviously, I still think it was a great film. I'm giving you the choice by not revealing anything that would take away from the impact of the film. If you want to know more of the actual story than that, you'll have to look elsewhere.

What I can tell you about the story is that Sam Bell is the sole technician in an almost completely automated operation extracting an element from the surface of the moon that has solved Earth's energy problems. Sam has been at this base on the moon, attending the machines, collecting the element (Helium-3) when cannisters on the harvesters are full and sending it back to Earth. When we meet him, Sam has apparently been on the moon, alone, for three years. In two weeks his contract will be up, and he'll be able to go home. Unfortunately, while heading out to collect a full cannister of Helium-3 from one of the harvesters, Sam has an accident, at which point, things get interesting, really, really interesting.

To some of you, that might sound like the kind of geektastic, hard core science fiction stuff that makes certain varieties of science fiction so very unattractive to most adults. I understand that, but what that synopsis doesn't tell you is that those details are the set up for the story. The real story is what happens from the accident on, and it is a very completely human story, more about Sam Bell than the moon, some made up element, harvesting on the moon or any of that. It's about Sam, our ideas about identity, what it is to be human, how it is we relate to ourselves and each other and it does all of it with authentic heart, subtle intelligence, and exquisite film making.

Moon is able to take on some big, heady, adult themes and make them personal in way that gets them away from being purely intellectual exercises. I enjoyed Richard Kelly's The Box, but I recognize that one of it's problems is the fact that it's intellectual nature doesn't make for the kind of compelling film making that a general non science fiction geek can identify with. Moon is an utterly compelling piece of film making, in the most human storytelling tradition.

You can not discount the importance of Sam Rockwell's performance to the success of this film. Rockwell has literally ninety eight or ninety nine percent of the screen time in the film. Other than a few minutes of video feed coming from Earth, and Kevin Spacey as the disembodied voice of Gerty, the robot/automation which has been Sam's only companion over the past three years. There just isn't another human being for the audience to start taking this journey with or sympathizing with, it's that simple. The thing is, Rockwell is absolutely phenomenal. I posted something earlier today on Facebook about having watched this last night, and that I couldn't stop thinking about it today, and a friend commented that the he would probably not have enjoyed the film if anyone else had been in Rockwell's role. I think that's a good call because not only can I not think of any other actor possibly having played this role, I can't think of an actor I would have sympathized or empathized with more than Rockwell. That authentic and honest heart in this movie is half to seventy five percent Rockwell's performance. I'd have to give credit for the remaining percentage would be due to the storytelling choices Duncan Jones makes, but there isn't enough praise available to me for Rockwell's performance. It is just so honest and so real and so understandable, it's completely disarming. I'm honestly disappointed Rockwell wasn't nominated for an Academy Award. This is the kind of role which the Academy usually trips over itself to give away awards to and I honestly think Rockwell is the victim of the Oscars trying to answer a very large and very loud community that has been increasingly critical of it. Too bad Rockwell is better in this role than most of those past Oscar bait nominations could have dreamed of being.

It's fairly obvious that a great deal of time, effort and care were put into this film. The production design is wonderful. The inside of the moon station is believably functional, and well designed because it continues to be interesting even though we spend the majority with it and it never gets boring or overwhelms the story or character. And the special effects are awesome. Not necessarily in the big, splashy, "look at how cool my special effects are" kind of way, but just in their subtle beauty and the fact that they all do have a very palpable reality and weight to them. All of it works together and is so deeply integrated that it makes me excited to see what Duncan Jones will do in the future. One of the problems that often comes up in sci-fi films or films that involve effects is that they don't seem to be a part of or integrated in the world the film exists in. Moon succeeds at avoiding that pit fall so well, I honestly didn't think about the effects until I was thinking about writing this. The fact that I was watched a film set in a near future, in a moon base, and didn't think about the effects at all, is a huge testament to the effects department, specifically because Moon is not the kind of film who's effects you should be thinking about. It should never be taking attention away from the character work in a film like this and it never does, while still being beautiful and interesting.

In the past year few years, we've had a few very good science fiction films. The Star Trek reboot was well done, exciting and fun. But, it was definitely more popcorn and action film than real, adult science fiction film. District 9 was the perfect middle ground film. It was exciting and fun, action packed, but also had a real story with great character development, an awesome character, great effects and the whole nine yards. Moon follows in the path of earlier classic science fiction like Blade Runner, the original Solaris and 2001: A Space Odyssey. But, Moon as much as it is in keeping with the thoughtful, honest nature of those films, it is much warmer and more heart felt and warm.

I can't recommend this highly enough.