Movie Review: Another Earth
I can guarantee that Another Earth is not for everyone. But maybe everyone should step out of the comfort zones of superhero and action movies and spend a couple of hours with this thoughtful, languishing, and visually stunning little gem. In his feature directing debut, Mike Cahill, known for documentaries such as Boxers and Ballerinas, along with his writing partner Brit Marling, have made the movie they wanted to make. For their efforts, they were awarded the Special Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Festival.
Another Earth is science fiction to be sure, and I am not qualified to discuss the science aspects, but they are fascinating. The film is really about redemption and forgiveness. Rhoda (played by Marling) has been accepted into MIT, where she plans to study astrophysics. Though a brainy girl, one night she parties too hard and is driving home when she hears that another earth (or replica) has been discovered. This causes her to try to get a glimpse of the new planet while driving which results in a horrible accident. Not to give too much away, but she does spend a few years in jail for manslaughter. When she gets out, her main goal is to make things right for the one survivor from the other car – something she becomes obsessed with. Marling, a stunning beauty who you can totally accept as an MIT student, is ethereal and quite the presence. I can see her becoming the geek contingency’s fantasy girl after this film. The way she goes about trying to make amends really makes you feel for her. She is so completely invested in making her wrongs right that she doesn’t care much for herself and I found myself wishing she’d give herself a break once in awhile.
By the time she is released from jail, the “other” earth has become a prominent fixture in the sky. It’s quite a sight. The scientists discover that it is pretty much a copy of our earth and those implications come into play later for a crazy ending that I will not spoil here. Its constant presence is thought-provoking; regular life will never be regular anymore. That picnic or bike ride will result in seeing this planet and thinking about who lives on it – not just once in a while, but every day. We think about space and what’s out there once in a while (some more than others) but imagine how things would change if this planet were just hanging there in the sky in plain sight?
William Mapother plays John, a conductor turned alcoholic after the accident – the accident’s sole survivor. Rhoda seeks him out and gets to know him without revealing who she actually is, which makes for a unique relationship. He’s cruel at first, as he has not fared well since the accident, but after a while, their relationship deepens. There is no way this girl would’ve become involved with this man if not for the experience they both share, but of course he doesn’t know that, and he does not realize it until it’s much too late. Mapother does a fine job, but it took me half the movie to get over the fact that he was Ethan on Lost, period, and I had a hard time accepting him as this character.
Brit Marling in Another Earth. © 2011 – Fox Searchlight.
Rhoda is posing as a house cleaner, which is how she gains entrance to John’s house. She is not moving on with her life. When she is not trying to be near John and figure out a way to redeem herself, she is moping at her parents’ house, without any motivation to go back to school. There is even a scene where she shows her blatant disregard for her not-too-shabby life – she is out in a field (it is winter) and she almost freezes to death – it is a slow, silent, and moving scene. It’s one of those scenes where the character obviously just wants to feel something, or possibly just feel numb. Either way, it is one of the best visual scenes in the movie, apart from the “new” planet. All the turmoil she feels at not deserving to live and move on is very present and heart wrenching. She does take one step in making a change, and that is by entering an essay contest to win a trip to the other earth. The trip is full of the unknown and her feeling is obviously, “what the hell – who cares if it’s dangerous?” so she writes an essay and submits it. The essay is narrated by Marling in the film and those words are one of the best things about the movie – very well written, and it is not a surprise that she wins this very expensive trip.
So, does she make it to the other earth? Are there people on it? Does she ever tell John how she came to arrive on his doorstep one day to clean his house? To find out, try something out of the ordinary and go see Another Earth.
