Another Earth

In science fiction, the idea of a "mirror" Earth is an old troupe. From various stories and novels to no less than 2 episodes of the original Star Trek, the "what if" scenario of a Earth just like ours, but yet a little different, is well mined. Nonetheless, director Mike Cahill and his co-screenwriter, Britt Marling, have used this concept as a backdrop to their film Another Earth, which, despite it's title and science fiction underpinnings, is actually a sobering drama about mistakes made and the infinite possibilities of the universe. Heady stuff, to be sure, and while Another Earth is hardly perfect, it eschews what you would normally expect from a film of it's title to deal with very down to Earth matters.

17 year old Rhoda Williams (Marling, engaging in double duty as writer and star), who is fascinated by astronomy, has just been accepted into MIT and has been celebrating at a party with friends. On her way home, drunk and distracted by the news on the radio of a second, Earth like planet that has appeared in the sky, causes an auto accident. In the second car is music professor John Burroughs (William Mapother), his pregnant wife and young son. Both the son and wife are killed in the accident, Burroughs ends up in a coma, and Rhoda spends the next four years in prison. After being released, she asks to be placed in a job that keeps her interaction with people to a minimum, and so ends up as a janitor at a local high school. Wracked with guilt at her part in the accident, she decides to visit Burroughs, who has turned to alcohol in the intervening years since awakening from his coma, but cannot bring herself to reveal the truth to him, and ends up pretending to be from a cleaning service and thus begins helping him put his home, and to some extent, his life back together.

In the time since the evening of the accident, the new planet has drawn closer to our Earth, and it is revealed to be an almost exact duplicate of Earth, with the same continents, and, as revealed on a news broadcast where radio transmission to the planet is attempted, possibly the exact same people. Rhoda, desperate to take hold of all that was lost from her participation in the accident, writes an essay to attempt to join the crew of the first planned expedition to the second Earth, while at the same time, her relationship with Burroughs, who does not know who she is, begins to grow.

Another Earth focuses its attention on Rhoda, who, in a moment of stupidity and selfishness, caused the irrevocable destruction of John Burroughs world as he knew it, and has been consumed by the results of her actions. Another Earth approaches her in a more realistic manner than many other dramas have, showing how that unfortunate mistake has transformed her world. Another Earth delves into her situation, affected by her guilt in her participation in the terrible tragedy and potentially unable to move on with her life. Another Earth delivers much of this often without long bouts of dialogue, relying largely on Marling's performance to deliver the emotional core of this character, and she proves up to the task. Marling unveils Rhoda to us through body language and sobering looks, and we can feel how so much of her was transformed that night. Another Earth doesn't specifically make us feel sorry for her, she accepts her responsibility in the tragedy, but it also does paint a picture of a human who, do to how society treats those who commit acts like this, even if accidental, seems to have fewer options available.

Burroughs, while not ignored, lacks the same degree of development, and we largely view him through Rhoda's gaze. He has crawled inside a bottle to salve his wounds and stayed there. When Rhoda enters his house, she seems to be the first significant human contact Burroughs has had in some time, and he opens up the closed gates of his world to her, first a little, but gradually much more. We can feel his pain and understand his helplessness as he continues on after so much has been taken from him, but he doesn't quite reach the same level of depth as Rhoda, however he is hardly a cipher.

If Another Earth missteps, it comes late in the film, where certain decisions are made that are arguably too manufactured, too melodramatic for this film that seems mostly interested in not working in the standard trumped up events of similar material, and while it certainly doesn't ruin Another Earth, it does seem a bit overdone, where a subtler, more realistic choice might have been better.

Against the story of these two characters, the revelation of the second Earth plays as a backdrop, but at key moments this plot thread delivers interesting material that allows Another Earth to move beyond the standard for a drama of this type. The idea of how this second Earth is similar, but also different, from our own is touched upon, but then becomes a greater piece of the narrative, allowing it to move in somewhat unique directions. Another Earth uses the science fiction conceit of the second Earth as a catalyst for story and character development, not as thin excuse to throw a bunch of special effects on the screen.

Another Earth is a small, somewhat slow piece that deals less in the fantastical nature of it's title and subplot, but more in the isolated world of two people who were changed by one terrible event. With Marling's strong performance and the film's focus on the characters and their coping with a horrible event, Another Earth proves to have it's aim set on a more precise and personal target than you might think.

Hammer your expectations down through the rocks. Here, let me help you. There's 1000's of fellow IMDb'ers who thought the movie sucked horribly. A lot of suckage. It's not that great. It's not sci-fi. If you're thinking of another movie to compare this to, no matter what you pick, this one'll fall terribly short.

To the facts, Brit co-wrote the movie, she's gorgeous. I probably would've given up half-way if it wasn't for the mysteriousness she portrays. That face, gawd! Made on a shoestring budget. Heck, Brit had to do her co-star's make-up in between shots. This is a movie made with passion, and a lot of faith that they'd done good stuff.

Well, let me sorta paint my experience watching 'Another Earth'. Glued to my seat, for an hour and a half, almost as if this was a thriller? I'm serious. Captivated by the gorgeous shots of 'earth 2'. Waiting for the little streams of info being released ever so stringently -- the announcement on the radio as they discover earth 2, and a whole bunch more. I've already mentioned how captivating Brit is.

What? No Sci-fi? There's definitely food for the sci-fi enthusiast. The premise comes from a mixture of new-age string theory of the multiverse kind. The ending'll have you wondering about Einsteinian space-time implications.

The core of the movie is largely philosophical. Forgiveness. Rebirth. etc. Kept me struggling throughout with my emotions about the main character. Past the acting. How much forgiveness can the viewer unleash? And is it justified?

Chill out, leave your expectations at the door. You may not like it. It's slow. It demands your attention, so keep away from the caffeine. You might not feel the same way about Brit though. She's gorgeous. She really is. It's just a well-made passion-filled indie-flick. It's got some gorgeous imagery. The atmosphere, constantly thick, with color and emotion. This review's gone on way too long. Indie flick of the year? Gets my vote. Who cares?

Oh BTW, its possible your friends'll hate you for recommending this. Especially if they're the kind that finds it hard to appreciate photography, artsy stuff maybe, and don't have much patience, you know, generally. So there ya go, one final reason for you to dig this flick. The fact that you like it -- yeah it'll be one of those things you look back on and say 'Hey, I really am different. I appreciate interesting deep stuff. I'm like an artist, philosopher, or something. neat!'. Holy hell. What? Is that really why I...

There are more than a couple of things going on here. For the casual viewer, this may be invisible to the naked eye. Having said that, if you pay a little attention, you will not only comprehend its core message, you will begin to truly appreciate the concept behind its making. Do not be thrown off by its subtle science fiction elements. If you find yourself questioning its genre, the actual story lies firmly wedged between drama and art. For this reviewer, the sci-fi aspect stands as a metaphor that powers the film's message.

17 year old Rhoda Williams (Brit Marling) has just been accepted into MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Her celebration is short-lived when after a night of partying, crashes her car into a vehicle driven by John Burroughs' (William Mapother), instantly killing his wife and son. Although Rhoda appears to be intoxicated, her distraction comes from a radio broadcast stating the discovery of a planet that closely resembles Earth. Four years later, Rhoda is released from prison; her spirit broken and dreams shattered, she takes up a janitor's position at a local school. At this point, there are various theories about the other planet. When contact is made, it is established that the other planet is in fact a mirror Earth having entered our solar system from a parallel dimension. Preparations are made to travel to the other Earth and Rhoda participates in a competition to become one of the first civilians to accompany astronauts to the approaching mirror Earth. After cleaning the school for some time, Rhoda approaches John with the intention of apologizing for her carelessness, but loses her nerve and poses as a maid-to-order cleaner. A music professor at Yale, John has become an alcoholic with disregard for his profession ever since the accident. He buys into Rhoda's pretence and has her clean his house once a week. In time, she helps him overcome his grief but never discloses who she really is. Just when they seem to be drawn to each other, Rhoda wins the competition to travel to the other Earth. She must now decide between confronting her demons and telling John the truth or escape her past and start a new life on the other Earth.

Until this point, the story unfolds remarkably in an easy to watch, evenly paced narrative. As a viewer, I was captivated right from the start. Co-written by Marling and director Mike Cahill, the screenplay has impeccable character detail relating to ample areas that allow us to probe within our own faults and limitations. As the lead character, Rhoda Williams is a bright individual with an even brighter future who throws it all away with just one stupid mistake. How many of us can look within ourselves and honestly claim that we have never made a mistake worth regretting? If you can raise a hand to that question then you must be a renowned hero, or one very self-righteous individual. Cahill's biggest accomplishment is in Rhoda's character study— An intelligent and ambitious teenager reduced to a confused and troubled adult, but a wiser one having learnt from her mistake. In giving life to this character, Marling is flawless and ironically powerful as a helpless woman fallen from grace. After this movie, I can only expect that we are about to see a lot more of Marling in the years to come. William Mapother as John is almost as inspiring as a man who has lost everything but the heart to recovery. With nothing to lose, it is always easy to give up on life, but Mapother does an exceptional turn around with John and gives closure to his character. Kumar Pallana has very few scenes in this movie but plays a vital role in mentoring Rhoda into redemption. He does this without much dialogue but with uncanny screen charisma.

As a debut directorial, Cahill also gets top credit for the picture post-card cinematography. Beautiful would be an understatement. We have cinematography dependent films with similar themes in GATTACA and SOLARIS, but nothing compares to the way Cahill renders his landscape in this movie. Also noteworthy is the pulsating score, used sparingly but effectively. Additionally, there is a scene on how to make music using a tool that is usually annoying to the ear. Amazing! For a shoe-string budget, this film did not win two awards at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival by pot-luck. That alone should silence haters for questioning the film's scientific logic or lack of. This is not about conquering another planet (done to death!) or alien invasions. It is about redemption through self-discovery and re-invention of one's self esteem by learning from the past and learning to let go of the past. It is about looking at a mirror image of one's self as opposed to assuming everything is perfect. For a drama, this film is as beautiful as it is poetic. Just don't expect any eye-popping special effects. There are tons of other movies catering to that need.

I am a psychiatrist and psychotherapist who can tell a hawk from a handsaw, and there is a wonderful handsaw in this movie. So, I feel qualified to tell you it is safe to see this movie as it is, without worrying about details like gravity. Do not allow unimaginative naysayers to keep you from enjoying this gem. I mean, we all can enjoy vampire and zombie movies, right? Is any movie any better than "Let the Right One In"? I saw this movie last night in Brookline Mass at a Q&A preview, with director, writers, and an actor -- all combined in two lovely people. No one in our sophisticated audience that included a CETI scientist cared enough about the "laws of physics" problems to mention them in the question period. All we cared about were the endearing characters, the music both acoustic and visual, the plot developments, the shocking climaxes, the compelling emotional plausibility.

The movie is not about anything as terrestrial as gravity. In the world of this movie, something has happened to upset some kind of cosmic symmetry, and the other earth has appeared from a parallel universe. I do wish some character or other had dispelled the physics with "I don't know why our orbits are not affected". But, the metaphor works as a way to discuss looking at oneself. It really does not matter. The acting is perfect, the camera-work perfectly beautiful, the plot deeply affecting with wonderful surprises.

A sad, tragic, yet beautiful story that takes its time and leaves you thinking, crying, wondering...

Firstly, the directing, the acting, it's all solid as could be. The main actress, Brit, is a severely underrated actress who I feel has so much in her expressions that I'm seriously in astonishment I haven't seen her rise to Oscar level performances in some of the best movies being made these days. What happened to her and why isn't she being cast in like every movie? Anyways, her expression, her ability to act, was just what really carried the movie for me.

Aside from her excellent acting, the story was hard hitting. Every move she made, every decision she made, I could totally see her doing. Yes it's too hard to apologize, so you make up a little lie. Yes you want to make someone's life better. Yes you dream of what could be on the other Earth. It all made so much sense. The time she finally revealed to him who she was... wow... it was such a moment I'll never forget.

And of course, I can't not comment on the amazing science fiction concept. The idea of another Earth popping into existence, and then everything after that being different... going on a different trajectory.. it's kind of a mind blowing idea. What if that happened, how would we react? I think the movie portrayed it somewhat realistically and I could see an Elon Musk type finding people to go on the journey to the planet who might fit into the other Earth like a missing puzzle piece.

The film never goes too far or says anything too loudly. It's all done in this way that keeps you imagining, wondering, what might be...

Anyways, I could totally give this a ten out of ten. Not many films make me tear up but this one did multiple times... that plus the low budget sci-fi and great acting and thought provoking... it all just adds up for me.... But I feel it's more of a nine out of ten. Not quite sure what the slightly missing element is... maybe the two earths would have contacted eachother sooner than four years... maybe that's what bugged me slightly... but alas, it's a small nit pick.

I've seen this movie twice now, and it was more enjoyable on the second watch.

Do I recommend this to everyone? Not really. I just think it's a movie I personally love. That I'd proudly add to my Blu Ray collection. It's not for everyone... the pace is slow, there are few characters, and maybe it's a bit Indie... but I liked all of that personally. The character study and brilliant performance of the worlds most underrated actress who I really wish would have kept going and going into more movies. Anyways, maybe see it if you like Sci-fi thinkers that are slow paced and fine tuned...

Beautiful beautiful story. 9/10.