Even though it's been out there for a while I am going to attempt to keep this review spoiler free, because if I can tempt someone to watch it I think they should go into it without knowing the finer details of the plot. I didn't read any spoilers beforehand and just loved the way it unfolded.
The basic premise is that Sam Bell is up on the moon, working alone apart from a service computer/robot named Gerty. Gerty is voiced perfectly by Kevin Spacey, the whole spoiler free thing prevents me from saying exactly why!
Sam Rockwell takes on the role of Sam Bell, and essentially acts his socks off. I mean that. I don't think I've been that impressed with an actor in a role for a long time.
The direction and editing are spot on, helping to convey the emotion of the scenes without ever seeming gimmicky or intrusive. The film doesn't boast stunning visual effects and it doesn't need them. The plot and the power of the script and acting is all that is needed.
While watching the film, two comparisons sprang to mind. One was the movie Silent Running, which is emotionally akin to the film and the other was the book A Rag, A Bone and A Hank of Hair by Nicholas Fisk (which is hopefully as spoilery as I will get here.)
I could imagine that some people may watch the film and gather what is going on quite quickly and then stop paying attention. My advice to those sort of people is to stop being so smug and enjoy the acting and the way the story develops. I too had worked out some of it before Sam did, but it didn't stop me enjoying how he works it out, or what he does with the knowledge.
I can't praise this film enough, it really reminded me of the more character driven classics (rather than high tech shoot 'em ups) from the days I started to be interested in science fiction.
By the way, you should also check out the ScyFiLove.com post about the Liverpool Sci Fi Pub Crawl last weekend for details of the Gerty drinking game sent by the film's director Duncan Jones for the event! It was lots of fun!
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