Rated PG-13 for disturbing images, some sexuality, nudity and brief drug use
Cast: Brit Marling, Matthew-Lee Erlbach, D.J. Flava, William Mapother, Meggan Lennon
Director: Mike Cahill
"Another Earth" contains science-fiction elements, but isn't really a science-fiction film. It's a philosophical one. If you're expecting the kind of flashy, CG-driven visual style associated with mainstream Hollywood, this isn't your movie.
The science "hook" is the discovery of a planet whose landscape configuration remarkably resembles earth. I already know what you're thinking. And yes, there are so many questions regarding scientific logic and how it does (and most especially does not) apply to the premise that one doesn't know where to begin. Better to not begin at all. You can't ask questions like that in a movie like this. The story establishes from the outset that it's a pensive, deliberately-paced character drama fueled by the main character's need for redemption. If you insist on getting hung up on the science, save your money.
Co-writer/director Mike Cahill has crafted a bold story that revels in possibility, and what may or may not be afforded in terms of karmic restitution for its main character(s). While it doesn't quite achieve greatness (it raises more questions than it elects to follow through on and opts for philosophy over emotion), there are enough avenues of provoked cogitation offered to make for an intriguing movie experience, so long as you're open to it.
Rhoda Williams (Brit Marling) is a high-school graduate who has just been accepted into MIT. Around the same time, the discovery of a planet (dubbed Earth 2) has been made; it has moved from behind the sun and into plain view in our night sky. Following a graduation party, an intoxicated Rhoda gets behind the wheel of her car and speeds off. She turns her attention toward the night sky as her car races down the street, ultimately crashing into a standing vehicle at a stop light. A pregnant wife and six-year-old child are killed while the husband, a music professor named John Burroughs (William Mapother) is left in a coma.
Four years pass. Rhoda is released from jail, and opts for work as a custodian. Burroughs has recently come out of his coma, and spends his days as a recluse behind a palisade of painful memories. Rhoda learns of an essay contest for a free ticket to be shuttled to Earth 2. Seeking any form of solitude, she enters the contest.
While out walking around the crash site one evening, Rhoda sees John leave a toy at the point of impact. She surreptitiously follows him home. Her need to confess is unbearable. She approaches his door a few days later and knocks, but upon seeing him, she loses her nerve and poses as an employee from a housekeeping service offering a free trial. He takes her up on it (his place does need cleaning) and as they spend more time together, a friendship is formed but the devastating secret remains. (It's explained in the film that John was in the coma during the trial, and refused to view the court documents for fear of what he might do to the perpetrator.)
The movie contains a cacophony of existential pontification--whether it be on radio broadcasts or television shows--on what may exist on Earth 2, what its existence means to us, whether or not we should plan for annihilation, and so forth. Those elements remain in the narrative's background to fuel the scientific mystery, but don't impact Rhoda or John directly. One scene that does change the nature of things involves the director of SETI who, while on a live tv broadcast, attempts to make radio contact with Earth 2. A voice crackles though from the other end. It is similar to the director herself. Eerily similar. Exact. The director learns there is another version of herself on the recently-discovered celestial body. It's a terrific scene that adds a whole new layer to the mystery.
Brit Marling not only stars, but co-wrote the screenplay with Cahill. She skillfully portrays a woman of vast intelligence understandably anchored by great compunction but capable of even greater joy. Her shining moment comes as she recounts to John a story of a cosmonaut driven mad by a clanking sound in his vessel, until he learned to fall in love with the sound. William Mapother is a fine character actor, but he's not quite leading man material. Yet he is credible here as a man who lost everything but rediscovers himself in the most subtle ways. (His friendship with Rhoda is established during a Nintendo Wii boxing game.)
What I admired most about "Another Earth" is how it forces us to leave our expectations at the door. I don't know if I've even described it in a way that makes sense. I suppose that's inevitable. The main character's struggle for redemption runs parallel to a scientific discovery that might offer a unique avenue to achieving such a goal. What could it mean to have another you out there in the cosmos, and one day meeting that person? Maybe nothing. Perhaps to enjoy the company of one who unabashedly shares your sense of humor. Or maybe to look deeply into their (your) eyes, through any pain and regret that still resides there, and say "you're forgiven."
* * * out of * * * * stars
The science "hook" is the discovery of a planet whose landscape configuration remarkably resembles earth. I already know what you're thinking. And yes, there are so many questions regarding scientific logic and how it does (and most especially does not) apply to the premise that one doesn't know where to begin. Better to not begin at all. You can't ask questions like that in a movie like this. The story establishes from the outset that it's a pensive, deliberately-paced character drama fueled by the main character's need for redemption. If you insist on getting hung up on the science, save your money.
Co-writer/director Mike Cahill has crafted a bold story that revels in possibility, and what may or may not be afforded in terms of karmic restitution for its main character(s). While it doesn't quite achieve greatness (it raises more questions than it elects to follow through on and opts for philosophy over emotion), there are enough avenues of provoked cogitation offered to make for an intriguing movie experience, so long as you're open to it.
Rhoda Williams (Brit Marling) is a high-school graduate who has just been accepted into MIT. Around the same time, the discovery of a planet (dubbed Earth 2) has been made; it has moved from behind the sun and into plain view in our night sky. Following a graduation party, an intoxicated Rhoda gets behind the wheel of her car and speeds off. She turns her attention toward the night sky as her car races down the street, ultimately crashing into a standing vehicle at a stop light. A pregnant wife and six-year-old child are killed while the husband, a music professor named John Burroughs (William Mapother) is left in a coma.
Four years pass. Rhoda is released from jail, and opts for work as a custodian. Burroughs has recently come out of his coma, and spends his days as a recluse behind a palisade of painful memories. Rhoda learns of an essay contest for a free ticket to be shuttled to Earth 2. Seeking any form of solitude, she enters the contest.
While out walking around the crash site one evening, Rhoda sees John leave a toy at the point of impact. She surreptitiously follows him home. Her need to confess is unbearable. She approaches his door a few days later and knocks, but upon seeing him, she loses her nerve and poses as an employee from a housekeeping service offering a free trial. He takes her up on it (his place does need cleaning) and as they spend more time together, a friendship is formed but the devastating secret remains. (It's explained in the film that John was in the coma during the trial, and refused to view the court documents for fear of what he might do to the perpetrator.)
The movie contains a cacophony of existential pontification--whether it be on radio broadcasts or television shows--on what may exist on Earth 2, what its existence means to us, whether or not we should plan for annihilation, and so forth. Those elements remain in the narrative's background to fuel the scientific mystery, but don't impact Rhoda or John directly. One scene that does change the nature of things involves the director of SETI who, while on a live tv broadcast, attempts to make radio contact with Earth 2. A voice crackles though from the other end. It is similar to the director herself. Eerily similar. Exact. The director learns there is another version of herself on the recently-discovered celestial body. It's a terrific scene that adds a whole new layer to the mystery.
Brit Marling not only stars, but co-wrote the screenplay with Cahill. She skillfully portrays a woman of vast intelligence understandably anchored by great compunction but capable of even greater joy. Her shining moment comes as she recounts to John a story of a cosmonaut driven mad by a clanking sound in his vessel, until he learned to fall in love with the sound. William Mapother is a fine character actor, but he's not quite leading man material. Yet he is credible here as a man who lost everything but rediscovers himself in the most subtle ways. (His friendship with Rhoda is established during a Nintendo Wii boxing game.)
What I admired most about "Another Earth" is how it forces us to leave our expectations at the door. I don't know if I've even described it in a way that makes sense. I suppose that's inevitable. The main character's struggle for redemption runs parallel to a scientific discovery that might offer a unique avenue to achieving such a goal. What could it mean to have another you out there in the cosmos, and one day meeting that person? Maybe nothing. Perhaps to enjoy the company of one who unabashedly shares your sense of humor. Or maybe to look deeply into their (your) eyes, through any pain and regret that still resides there, and say "you're forgiven."
* * * out of * * * * stars
