Another Earth (**½)
Directed
by: Mike Cahill
Starring:
Brit Marling, William Mapother, Kumar Pallana
Seen:
December 15th 2011
**½
Out of ****
Another Earth is an odd low-budget indie drama with a little bit of
science-fiction in the background. The premise is of another earth, called
Earth 2, literally a mirror of our own world, moving into our galaxy and “approaching”
earth over a time-span of approximately 4 years. The movie’s story has only
basic plot involvement with this other earth, as events that unfold on this
earth are the main plot points in this movie.
Driving home one night the under-aged Rhoda Williams (Marling) has the
radio on and the wind in her hair through the open window. When the DJ
announces the appearance of another possibly inhabitable planet, by now visible
in the east, Rhoda searches the sky for the rumoured blue dot and finds it. Not
having kept her eyes on the road, Rhoda’s car starts drifting off-course, and
she slams into the car of music professor John Burroughs (Mapother); and the
accident claims the lives of John’s wife and son. Rhoda is sent to prison for
four years, and when she comes out the new earth is much closer, now a constant
in the sky, about four or five times the size of our moon (a question I sat
with was whether “our earth” has now stopped rotating, as the moon and Earth 2
are visible in the American sky at all times of the night and day, surely it
must be gone occasionally).
Rhoda decides on manual labour, rejecting her earlier dreams of going
to MIT, as she is prone to depressing thoughts and strives to shut them down
and simply work. She becomes a high school janitor, picking up small pearls of
wisdom from Purdeep (Pallana), the old janitor at her school who is blind and
mostly quiet. The only thing she reads is news about Earth 2, and she enters an
essay writing contest, the prize being a trip to Earth 2. She learns of John
Burrough’s survival and decides on visiting him to apologise, but when faced
with the broken man, she loses her nerve and offers him a free trial house-cleaning
service. When she’s done, he asks her back the next week. The two slowly become
friends and eventually more as Rhoda returns week after week, events now headed
towards the reveal between Rhoda and John, with Earth 1’s visit to Earth 2
occasionally mentioned.
Another Earth is a good movie with a very understated feel to it. It is
quiet and pensive and while as a whole it is not bad I can’t say that I wouldn’t
have changed the channel if I had watched it on TV. Brit Marling and William
Mapother both give strong and poignant performances, which keeps the movie
afloat. Small elements of visual flair and interesting filming angles, jumping
or obscuring surprises without reliance on visual effects (this is really just
two small moments in the movie) are brilliant, bookending the movie quietly and
effectively. Another Earth is a bit like a quiet Sunday afternoon, and a bit
like anaesthesia, and while I enjoyed elements of it, I know for certain I won’t
remember it for long.
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