Is it too late to review a movie when it has been out for five months? Never! Especially so when Another Earth's DVD release is this Tuesday (11/29). I like how we still call them DVD releases. Yes, DVD media will be around for some time. As far as I'm concerned, it has one foot in the grave next to VHS. Calling it a DVD/Blu-ray release just seems redundant ... but I digress. I promise I am not only going to keep review sci-fi movies revolving around (pun intended) planets and how we react to them with other things going on at the same time. It is just a sheer coincidence I promise! It just seems as of late, I have been enjoying going through a space kick more so than usual.
Perhaps I will show some bias towards this movie in reviewing it. If you know my taste in movies you may know that I am a dork when it comes to good sci-fi movies. You may also know that I am a stupid sap when it comes to (GOOD) romantic films. When you combine the two, you have what I like to call (perhaps others do as well) a sci-fi-rom; Science Fiction Romance. I have been poked and prodded for loving "love in space" movies. And you know what? It's true. My top three of this genre are
I have found a new person who can act, write and is a sci-fi dork. I think I am in love. Her name is Brit Marling. After graduating with a degree in economics from Georgetown University, Brit Marling turned down a job with Goldman Sachs for a career as in Artist. Acting for a couple of years turned uneventful when she was type casted as the cute blonde in horror movies. She learned to write and wrote herself into her own scripts. She worked on two movies at the same time. She worked on one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. They both premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this year. They are Sound of My Voice (out next year) and Another Earth.
Today's Feature:
When I was doing my annual NY visit to see my friend Matt, among other friends, we planned to go see Another Earth. It had been out for some time and I had not gotten around to checking it out. So I was excited to see it, especially in New York. We had checked the times for the day before and assumed the same times for the following. Well of course the next day it had left theaters. That sucked. Life goes on. Three months later I decided to watch it on a whim.
Rhoda Williams (Brit Marling), a bright young woman accepted into MIT's astrophysics program, aspires to explore the cosmos. A brilliant composer, John Burroughs (William Mapother – LOST), has just reached the pinnacle of his profession and is about to have a second child with his loving wife. On the eve of the discovery of a duplicate Earth, tragedy strikes and the lives of these strangers become irrevocably intertwined. Estranged from the world and the selves they once knew, the two outsiders begin an unlikely love affair and reawaken to life. But when one is presented with the chance of a lifetime opportunity to travel to the other Earth and embrace an alternative reality, which new life will they choose? -- (C) Fox Searchlight (RT)
Let me start with the bad first. The bad being … umm … there really isn’t anything bad about it. Probably my only complaint about this movie is the camera work. I don’t mind the natural hand cam, no tripod, camera shake. It wasn’t that bad in this movie, but Jesus was the quick zoom-ins (pretty sure that’s not the technical term) distracting and annoying. There were a lot of them. I felt like I was watching an episode of the Office.
The soundtrack was exceptional. I immediately got it after the film ended. It was scored by Fall on Your Sword. It was the perfect sound for this movie. It had the perfect amount of electronic, space-sounding, airy type of music for this film’s score. There is a Scene where John (Mapother) uses a bow to play an old-fashioned handsaw! Apparently this is actually done and I have never heard of that. It is hands down the best on-screen musical performance, that I can recall, I have seen ever in a film. It really is beautiful. Unfortunately that actual piece is not on the soundtrack. It is by Scott Munson and performed by Natalia ‘Saw Lady’ Paruz. I could link you to a sample of it but I would prefer you listen to it in context of the film while watching it. It is truly an amazing piece.
To be honest, going into this movie and a reason why I didn't see it right away was because it kind of looked like a sleeper. Boy was I wrong. A lot of movies can have a lot of pretty flair and have zero substance (COUGH - Tarsem Singh as of late - COUGH). This film nailed it on the head for me. I did not see the ending coming at all and it kind of made me jump out of my seat … and not in a “I’m scared” kind of way. You’ll see.
When Another Earth delivered its final blow, I was putty in this film's hands. It satisfied so many different things that a film of this genre should. Being a low budget film, it pulled off a lot. Soundtrack: check. Cinematography: check. Constantly showing beautiful shots of the moon and Earth 2: Check. Acting: Check. Plot and Story: check ... I could go on.
Rhoda (Marling) is plagued and haunted with what she did to John (Mapother). She looses her nerve when she tries to confront him about what she did. She befriends him to try to make his life a little bit better. She wants it to be for him and is scared when she thinks when it also can be for her. Their relationship feeds off each other so in some way they can better than themselves, somehow feel normal again and so that Rhoda can bear her guilt and shame. By her entering in a chance to go to Earth 2, she can just disappear or perhaps she can make things better in some way.
Some complaints of this movie are that it lacks scientific plausibility in a number of ways. They are right, it does. If you are expecting a General to be explaining to the President about the where, why, when and how a planet appeared, then you are going to miss the entire point of this film. Another Earth is about forgiveness, redemption and second chances.
The science aspect of it all is very much in the background. Throughout the film a scientist, they met while filming, speaks in a narrative about the philosophical implications of Earth 2. An interesting theory is talked about; the broken mirror theory in relation to Earth 2. “If there is any small that variation arises; they look this way, you look that way. Suddenly everything changes and you begin to wonder what else is different. One might say you have an exact mirror image that is suddenly shattered and there is a new reality. Therein lays the opportunity and the mystery. What else? What new? What now?”
It’s fascinating because it asks you a lot of questions that you probably have asked yourself at some point ... I know I have. In the film, Rhoda asks "If you met yourself, what would you say?" Then later on, a narrative expands on that question: “What would we say to ourselves? What would we learn from ourselves? What would we really like to see if we could stand outside ourselves and look at us?”
I was a little disappointed at the time I missed seeing it in New York. I am glad now that I didn't. It was twice as rewarding because I didn't expect it to be this damn good and also because it was an amazing movie that almost fell through the cracks. Mike Cahill, the director and co-writer, perfectly describes this movie as a “minimalist, science fiction, romantic, dramatic thriller”. In its simplest form, Another Earth is a really cool Twilight Zone episode.
