Another Earth (Mike Cahill, 2011)

[domino harvey]

If I could invest my money in the future of an actor, I'd put all available funds on Brit Marling, who gives the best performance I've seen so far this year in the best film I've seen so far this year, Another Earth. She co-wrote and co-produced the film, so she obv knows how to write to her strengths. Marling has a monologue about the first Russian cosmonaut which is as good as any monologue in any film, period... coming soon to an audition near you, no doubt. She is so good as her character that one begins to worry when she keeps doing the wrong things-- not because the film goes wrong, but because the character is acting true to herself, and it's a dangerous road to travel.

To adhere strict scientific logic to the premise is futile-- the appearance of a mirror Earth is a philosophical conceit, not a scientific one, and to get hung up on the exacts of the premise is to miss the point. The underlying problem being addressed is dealt with below in the spoiler text, which absolutely under no circumstances should be revealed unless you've seen the film-- this contains an ENORMOUS SPOILER you will not want to ruin for yourself!

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The film is an ultimately fatalistic document on the inability to make up for past ills. Like Man of the West before it, Another Earth maintains a dark, even darker than Mann's film, final judgment on our inability to fully undo, redeem, or change our past. The final scene is thus perfect (and that's not a word I throw around), as it causes us to reassess all that's come before. The film frustrates because Marling is so good at playing her character that when she indulges in self-destruction to the point of emotionally raping her victim under the flawed auspices of "helping him" (though actually borne somewhere between her still teenager-like inability to confront a situation head-on and a selfish personal desire to right her wrongs via what she can do rather than what she shouldn't do), I got uncomfortable-- not because this is untrue to her character (it isn't), but because I was afraid the film had taken a wrong turn and endorsed in some way these actions. It did not and does not. As Marling makes her last-ditch and genuine effort to right her wrongs by giving her ticket to the husband, she's happy, she's free of the burden of guilt. But then comes the final scene.

I know there will be no end of interpretations of the final scene. Ultimately, the Mirror-World Marling's appearance must mean that the husband's family did indeed still die in the Mirror Earth, because how else could she have landed her ticket to Earth 1? And thus, not only is it impossible to fix a mistake made on Earth using all tools at our disposal (emotional, physical, etc), even a majestic implementation of the cosmic cannot undo what's been done. There is perhaps some small positive note in the fact that Mirror-World Marling is not as good a person as Earth 1 Marling (she went and didn't give the ticket to the husband), but perhaps she's better and never even tried to get involved in his life? When the final scene appeared, I nodded my head "Of course"-- I hadn't seen it coming, but it made instant sense. However, as the credits rolled, the full implications of the ambiguous final moment hit and I am not ashamed to say I was overcome with emotion. I rarely cry at films, but something about the utter fatalism of not just Marling's actions but all our actions, of the inability to right our past wrongs despite all our best efforts, and even just the pure poetry of such a well-handled ambiguous ending-- all aspects hit hard.

But aside from the acting and message, the film is also beautifully shot and edited-- it's no surprise Soderbergh was a fan, it's very much a product of his style and if you're going to emulate, you could do worse!

[swo17]

Some might remember Marling as the girl Britta thought was a lesbian in Community.

[domino harvey]

Indeed, and I had no idea she had something like this in her! Apparently she turned down Soderbergh's next movie so she could be free to make another film she wrote, which seemed like a dumb decision before I saw this, but not after.

[Brian C]

I really admired the film also, but I had a different take on the ending:

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Rhoda gets the inspiration to give the ticket away after hearing the theory of the "mirror image" earth (or whatever the specific term was), which I think she slightly misunderstands. I'd need to see it again to be sure, but I thought the way it was explained was that similar things happen on Earth 2 but in a different way, but she seems to interpret it as simply that Earth 2's timeline became unsynchronized at a certain point so the accident may not have happened.

Anyway, I thought the possibility was that the accident still happened on Earth 2, but John might have died while the wife and/or kid lived. This would have still had the same effect of overwhelming guilt on Rhoda, but because the outcome of the accident was different, so was her interaction with the survivors. She wouldn't have developed the same relationship with the wife and so she still has the ticket to use herself.

I'm not fully sure what the implications of this would be, however.

[colinr0380]

Another Earth has also been getting championed at the Onion AV Club.

And here's the trailer.

[jorencain]

Here is an interview with Cahill and Marling from the Filmspotting podcast.

[dad1153]

Saw this at midnight last night at NYC's Landmark Sunshine after (a) watching Coppola's "One From the Heart" at Anthology Film Archives (it was OK) and (b) chowing down a Ray's Special pizza slice that must packed at least 3K calories (for $5.49 a slice it better kill me :p).

Except for Rhoda's family being almost completely marginalized from the story (which is fine because it allows the fat-free 90 min. narrative to focus on Rhonda's relationship with John and, to a smaller-but-no-less-stirring extent, the older janitor) this is every bit as good as advertised. Brit is cute and intelligent (that she co-wrote and co-produced the movie speaks volumes about her skills; this girl is going places) and this such a simple-yet-efficient blue-print for low-budget filmmakers to do science fiction on a shoe string. Mike Cahill also shot and edited "Another Earth" and, though small-budgeted, the sci-fi aspect doesn't come as cheap despite clearly being the background to the very human drama happening in 'our' Earth. The many scientist we hear theorizing throughout on radio/TV broadcasts (which didn't hit me until later were preparing viewers for the ending, which at first shocked/disappointed me but the more I thought it over the more I realized it couldn't have ended better) reminded me of Brice Parain's memorable cameo in Godard's "Vivre sa Vie." It doesn't hurt that Bill Mapother brings his 'A' game and makes post-accident John Burroughs every bit as complex as one would expect (pitiful but not broken, depressed but not out of touch, etc.) for a movie that has a science fiction twist that still mostly contends with typical indie-pic angst territory. Love the comment from John that the people of 'Earth 2' probably don't refer to their Earth as #2.

From the daring-but-could-have-gone-really-tasteless final act to an ending (didn't make me cry like domino harvey but it reminded me of the punch-in-the-gut ending of "Twelve Monkeys") that hasn't made me wish more for a sequel than ever (there's a better chance of a Zemeckis-helmed Hollywood remake with Angelina Jolie fighting her mirror assassin and Chris Walken as the billionaire-turned-space-benefactor than a direct sequel, but a guy can dream!), "Another Earth" gave me the best and most enthralling 90 minutes I've spent watching a movie screen in theaters this year.

[Jeff]

Brit Marling is definitely the real deal as an actress, and I can't wait to see what she does next. I'm not, however, quite as enthusiastic about the film as everyone else has been. Everything seemed a little contrived and implausible, and I'm not referring to the Sarah Palin Science, which didn't really bother me at all.

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Trying to cope with this kind of deep regret and grief has certainly been explored before, most recently in Rabbit Hole, and I was intrigued to see how that need for forgiveness was going to be addressed via the "Earth 2" conceit. Rather than explore the philosophical concepts with any real depth though, it felt like one unlikely plot device after another set up to create the scenario in the third act.

If a 17-year-old girl is really going to serve four years in prison for DUI resulting in death, wouldn't that mean she was tried as an adult? If so, her name wouldn't be protected. I just didn't buy that she would have that kind of anonymity. Her situation certainly wouldn't have been unknown to her high school friend she ran into buying groceries.

I could get past all of that, but her actions began to seem really unlikely when she showed up at the victim's door. I can imagine her going and seeking forgiveness, and when confronted with surly demeanor, I could see her deciding to turn and run, or say she must have the wrong house, or something like that. The last thing I could imagine the character doing at that point is saying that she worked for a maid service and could clean his house for free the first time. It's such a goofy left field lie, and it's immediately topped by the professor buying it and saying come on in. The only reason for such a contrivance would be to set up some clumsy, heavy-handed symbolism about "spiritual cleansing" and the need to "disinfect" (see also: job as janitor cleaning up after other young people, endearing old Indian also coping with intense regret who bleaches eyes and ears).

I was annoyed when it became apparent that she was going to keep the silly charade up for months. Then, the development of that relationship seemed so rushed and forced, and I found it pretty implausible that a 21-year-old girl would submit to the sexual advances of a very emotionally damaged man twice her age, especially considering the baggage he brought to her. She had to though, otherwise how would we get to the "don't go" scene so quickly?

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Ultimately, the Mirror-World Marling's appearance must mean that the husband's family did indeed still die in the Mirror Earth, because how else could she have landed her ticket to Earth 1? And thus, not only is it impossible to fix a mistake made on Earth

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Is that really the case though? Do you think that the reason her essay won the contest is because she was a convicted felon? I know she says in her voiceover that her felony makes her the ideal candidate, but we never heard any rationale behind that. If a random 21-year-old girl is going to be selected from what must have certainly been millions of applicants, wouldn't it be just as likely (if not much more so) that they would choose one who had been studying astrophysics at MIT (as Rhoda would have if not for the accident)?

She says at one point that the scientists believe that the planets were mirrors of each other until the moment we became aware of the other planet. She heard about and saw the planet a minute or so before the crash. Isn't it possible then, that on Earth 2 she swerved at the last minute and missed the professor and his family? She moves on with her life, though traumatized by the experience. She goes to MIT, studies astrophysics, is still scarred by her near-fatal mistake, and writes an essay. She would still be just as good of writer and would theoretically know much more about astrophysics. I guess I just can't imagine the essay committee going, "Yeah, but she never killed anyone." They obviously didn't care much about who went anyway, since they just let her give her seat away to someone else.

My impression was that perhaps the Rhoda on Earth 2 had been able to go on with her life as planned, but she still loved space and still wanted to escape, so she wrote the essay. The Earth 2 Rhoda who shows up outside the house somehow seemed more together and mature than Earth 1 Rhoda. Maybe it was the way she was dressed. I thought that was kind of a neat idea for the film to broach. The characters on Earth 1 hoped to find better versions of themselves. What if you got to the other planet and found that the other version of you was a worse version of yourself. I think that's what Earth 2 Rhoda found.

I'm not generally a fan of the "plausible police," but I suppose you either connect with the emotions in a film and are willing to go with it or not. In this case, I didn't, and I wasn't. I'm glad I saw it though. As I said, Marling is an immensely talented actress, and there are some good ideas here. I just wish they had been explored a little more thoroughly and elegantly.

[domino harvey]

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I took her participation in the cleaning service ruse to serve a rather clever dual-function for the character: She gets to punish herself by getting close to the disaster she caused, and at the same time harbor the hope that she's making it better. This is an agonizingly self-destructive plan, but one that fits in with her earlier actions, not just where she stripped nude in the snow, to the point of frostbite apparently, but even her career choice-- surrounded by masses of potential peers who ignore her because, well, she's the school janitor, and denying her innate abilities and smarts with this punishment. It's important to remember what occurs before she gives into the husband's advances-- she hears him play the singing saw, and we are reminded of the earlier monologue, here illustrated a little too literally perhaps, but nevertheless presented with a situation where her victim has fallen for her, she "hears the music" rather than the noise and gives in. Hope is a dangerous thing, and she begins to convince herself that she's making things better when in reality she's done probably the next worst thing she could have done to this man besides what she already did years earlier, all under the foolish idea of somehow making it better. It's frustrating, but as I've said, I don't think the film co-signs with her actions, which is why I have a real problem with both fans and detractors calling this film a romance.

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Re: the essay, I'm pretty sure the film presents it as being hand-picked by the Richard Branson-type who is sponsoring the trip because it resonates with him personally-- doesn't he say something to her on the phone about how close he came to being in jail and not a millionaire? I'm not sure I can buy that Mirror-World Marling wound up on Earth 1 any other way than how Earth 1 Marling did, but the ambiguity allows for it of course

[Grand Illusion]

I really liked the film. Brit Marling gives a very layered performance, especially as it regards to her own masochistic tendencies. She sabotages herself in so many different moments, and it's intriguing to watch these machinations unfold, whether she's aware of them or not.

I decided early on to let the central conceit take me in, lest I be baffled by the scientific inaccuracies. Essentially taking the planet as a metaphor for second chances makes all the unlikely coincidences go down easier. For example:

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The girl, who happens to be an astrophysics major, gets into her major life-altering accident on what happens to be the night Earth 2 appears. Then she visits the lone survivor, who happens not to recognize her or know what she looks like. And this same girl happens to be the one to win the essay contest to Earth 2, among ostensibly millions of entries, and she gives the ticket to the man. Of course, the private organization running the contest happens not to disqualify her and simply give the ticket to the second place essay winner. Oh yeah, and John Burroughs 2 better not happen to be surprised when he runs into his doppelganger living it up with his wife and kids.

I don't believe the script could've smoothed over these coincidence as many are central to the idea of the film. It does do injustice to the current scientific paradigm that life isn't as random as it seems and is simply seen as such in light of the vastness of many logical processes that we are unaware of in everyday life (i.e. natural selection, how atoms work on a quantum level, etc.) Nonetheless, it's best not to let any of that ruin what is a very strong character study.

In addition to the performances, I like the quiet ominous quality that is given to the other planet, mostly seen hovering over the shoulder of Rhoda. Another sequence of shots to add to the cinema of walking. Even some of the dialogue was clever without being too obvious. The best example is the aforementioned quote from the John Burroughs character about Earth 2 not seeing themselves as the second Earth.

I hated the cinematography though. The handheld jittery camera works much better for verite than it does for pensive melancholy and philosophy. I've had enough of pop zooms and randomly out-of-focus shots during key emotional moments, and I wish they didn't go with such an obvious indie form that didn't fit the content. If you can afford that large effects shot at the beginning of the film, then you can afford a tripod.

I am disappointed by quite a few of the reviews that are decrying the film as "arty," as if that were a bad thing. I think Cahill and Marling thought of a genius conceit to get sci-fi fans to see a thoughtful drama. But, as they say, you reap what you sow. If you work to get people hoping for an alien invasion into the seats, you might suffer some backlash.

I also have my own readings on the end. It worked for me. And I feel that even if the ending doesn't entirely work coherently with everything we've seen before, the premise necessitates the payoff. Sometimes, things just end the way they have to end. Or maybe not.

[domino harvey]

Ridic Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy thing coming November 29, and they kept the awesome poster art!

[mfunk9786]

I'm having quite the time processing this film. I watched it last night, and my wife watched it earlier tonight on my recommendation, and she walked away as stunned as Domino while I am struggling with the logic of the storytelling much like Jeff and Grand Illusion were earlier in this thread. There is a whole lot of shaky logic (ironically within the Earth 1 storyline, the whole sci-fi aspect involving Earth 2 works well) that results in occasionally awkward expositional dialogue (John clunkily explaining why he doesn't know who Rhoda is; equally clunkily confronting her about her employment situation, etc). Those wrinkles in logic, in addition to what might be the worst metaphorical subplot in movie history (what has become of Rushmore's Mr. Littlejeans, being used for runtime padding like this?!), prevent Another Earth from being a solidly great film (if I may use another adverb and some more parentheses); but there is a whole lot to like. Brit Marling is a heck of an acting talent, and her performance might be the best I've seen this year. It's funny that 2011 delivers two "a giant metaphor of a planet has appeared from behind the sun!" movies that both include nude laying-and-gawking at said planet scenes. Marling would be my choice for Oscar gold (heh, neither will even be nominated) over Dunst because of the simple necessity of carrying this picture from start to finish. I don't want to take anything away from William Mapother's performance, but I think the fact that his name was mentioned once in this thread when Marling's is mentioned quite often is indicative of the lack of depth for his character on the page. I feel he did the best with what he was given, but the film is all about Rhoda's guilt, and he is simply a cog in a machine where his character could have lent some narrative heft, perhaps making the aforementioned awful subplot involving Pagoda from The Royal Tenenbaums unnecessary.

I might seem down on the film in the previous paragraph, and I also might seem like a subpar grammatical stylist, but I assure you that the former is far from the truth. Another Earth is an important film because of what it does right, what it has to say about the nature of guilt and time and the human experience. It's the "right" kind of science fiction, alongside 2001 and Solaris and Melancholia and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - making the viewer question the most intimate details of their own existence and their own mortality. Science fiction can deliver so much more than the kind of stuff that makes The Big Bang Theory characters buy t-shirts - Marling and Mike Cahill understand that and have (seemingly effortlessly - maybe too effortlessly) delivered a very good piece of work that reminds us all how important the genre can be.

[Brian C]

I don't want to take anything away from William Mapother's performance, but I think the fact that his name was mentioned once in this thread when Marling's is mentioned quite often is indicative of the lack of depth for his character on the page.

'Mapother' is Tom Cruise's real last name. I'm not sure how well-known this factoid is, but I immediately recalled it when I saw William Mapother's name in the credits. I then spent much of the movie (or at least, his scenes) trying to figure out if they were related, before concluding about halfway through that they probably are. And, in fact, they are cousins.

So, there's that.

[mfunk9786]

Makes me wonder why Tom changed his last name, Mapother's catchy

[mfunk9786]

And the cop-out ending—which doesn't really mean or suggest anything, when you look back on it—certainly doesn't help either.

[CSM126]

The only hilarious thing about that review is how generous he was to give this crap a whole three stars. I know I'm probably the only dissenter on this, but I hated Another Earth. Such a great concept, wasted. This has to be the only movie where people find Wii boxing more interesting than the GIANT DUPLICATE EARTH. "Wanna discuss the implications of this?" "Nah, let's play video games".

Riveting stuff, that. The mumblecore acting is grating, the script direly boring. I wanted to scream most of the time. The only reason I didn't is because it would have been rude to the one other sucker who had the misfortune of being in the theater with me to watch this wretched thing.

[mfunk9786]

Good morning, sleepyhead!

[James Mills]

The only hilarious thing about that review is how generous he was to give this crap a whole three stars. I know I'm probably the only dissenter on this, but I hated Another Earth. Such a great concept, wasted. This has to be the only movie where people find Wii boxing more interesting than the GIANT DUPLICATE EARTH. "Wanna discuss the implications of this?" "Nah, let's play video games".

Riveting stuff, that. The mumblecore acting is grating, the script direly boring. I wanted to scream most of the time. The only reason I didn't is because it would have been rude to the one other sucker who had the misfortune of being in the theater with me to watch this wretched thing.

I was mad at myself for not catching this at LAFF until reading this, as this is exactly what I worried the film would end up being (I think I remember thinking "I'm worried this may be like Cold Souls: great premise done direly" given its reviews). Then again, I don't seem to share similar tastes with most on here so I should probably just see it for myself.

[thirtyframesasecond]

I quite liked this though with reservations. I guess much of it just seems totally silly, not the science aspect, but more the way Rhoda deals with the grief of what's she's done. It just goes beyond the realm of what's logical. I assume Solaris was in the minds of the filmmakers and the whole concept of another planet existing so we can make up for things we've done in our past is always a neat one. And if you're going to borrow your conceit, you might as well make it from Tarkovsky. With such a low budget and the ideas it has (but doesn't always develop - but then it's 90 mins), Another Earth has lots of praise it for - and it closes without too much obvious resolution, which is nice.

[beteille]

Just watched, loved Another Earth via Amazon on-demand. Then read some interviews with the director and re-watched a few key scenes. Knowing there can always be multiple interpretations to the ending, I offer this spoiler-ridden one to the group:

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Remember at the beginning, as Rhoda drives to the fatal accident, she's listening to the radio? The DJ "Flava" implores listeners to look skyward at newly-discovered Earth 2. He describes it as being just east of the North Star. Rhoda 1 looks up, veers out of her lane, hits Family 1's car, killing Wife 1 and Son 1, but sparing Husband 1.

A scientist explains later that it only take minor variances to break the "mirror" between the two planets.

So meanwhile, arguably, on Earth 2, the view of Earth 1 would be, could be in a slightly different celestial position. Maybe west of the North Star from Earth 2's point of view? Is it possible that Rhoda 2 veers a different direction, hitting Family 2's car from a different angle? What if she kills Husband 2 (possibly sparing Wife 2 and Son 2), leaving no one to clean up after, no one to sleep with, no one to give her space ticket to.

So for fans of happy endings, Husband 1 is reunited with Wife 2 and Son 2 up on Earth 2! And Rhodas 1 and 2 have lots to talk about back on Earth 1.

[knives]

That's probably accurate, though I doubt your 'happy ending' would happen or be all that happy.

[mfunk9786]

I really like that interpretation.

[regtwelve]

I loved the ending. Please excuse my rather lengthy interpretation of the final scene and how it may have differed from what may have been expected.

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It seemed to me that every single thing that happened on each earth was identical up until the SETI conversation on tv. The fact that both earths were approaching each other would have caused different views from each planet, but I give the movie a pass on this point because it is a movie. Presume for a moment that one or both earths were stuck in some sort of space wormhole which was effected by the curvature of light by gravity... Just prete. nd everyone acted and saw precisely the same thing until....

First contact. That would be the SETI conversation. Now in reality, I believe, both people would think and say the exact same thing at the exact same time for all of eternity. They are using precisely the same equipment to communicate.. they would have the exact same delay between transmission. They could ask each other a question, but they would both ask the question simultaneously, and answer each other simultaneously.

As soon as the girl won the ticket, I envisioned a happy ending. The girls from each earth would swap spots, and even though it would still be a bit awkward, the men would get the girl they loved, but without that little detail of the girl having been the person who killed his family! The girl would be able to comfort the man and make up for what her evil twin had done.

This would have made for a strange, but very movie like ending. And a relatively happy one.

But, the SETI conversation changed the precise mirror image of each world, and as things unraveled, it caused the wrong swap to occur. What a great ending

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

I watched this at last and loved it. I wasn't prepared for it to be so understated and beautiful. It turned out to be a delight as the story unfolded. The acting alone moves me to consider a second viewing - Marling's presence alone a good piece of physical acting. The silences and long stretches really pulled me into her world and the emotions she must have been feeling. Her character is quite fascinating as there's much that isn't said, but still conveyed clearly. I think this is one of the best performances I've seen all year. Mapother is no slouch, either - I was immediately pulled into his story - but I love how he and Marling connected. Watching how she navigated the emotional shoals of this man's sad present condition and the knowledge of what she'd done to him was acted quite deftly.

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So much so that I held my breath when she finally gave him the talk. Mapother's reaction was excellent; I was afraid it might be more maudlin.

I love that final shot, of course. I should have seen it coming, but it was perfect. I also loved the handheld photography and the zooms. I'd call it some of the best handheld photography that I've seen in awhile. I think what impresses me most of all is the perfect tone of the film throughout and how Marling anchors the movie to her performance. I couldn't imagine a better approach than hers to the film. I look forward to watching it again, but with the end in mind.

[georgekeddy]

I seen the poster for this movie in my local cinema yet I never noticed the movie come in... none-the-less I was able to see it and I was looking forward to it, and it was not disappointing.

Usually I find movies very predictable and this movie proved unpredictable, which is why I enjoyed it so much. The acting was a little rough at times but still realistic and I was impressed with the views of the other Earth special effects. The ending came as a surprise, I don't know how it passed me as I am usually predicting things right to the last second...

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I couldn't help but think that the end was a little confusing, it went a number of ways for me...
When she's walking down the side of her house and meets herself, does this mean that her Earth 2 self is more selfish and didn't give away her ticket. Does this mean that she didn't kill the mother and child but then I think that she won the ticket for giving such a great answer. Then I ask myself, perhaps she didn't kill anyone on Earth 2 and this is fate playing out its role as maybe she was always the winner, despite her history because she did get into MIT, see was a 'space geek', perhaps her answer on Earth 2 was a educated answer stating that shes always dreamed of being in space... perhaps this is where her Earth 2 self used the story about the Russian hearing the knocks.

What if she didn't kill the family on Earth 2, and the heart broken father gets there, will he live with his new family, and his double? Will he be able to live happily knowing that someone else is having sex with his wife, even if it is him... perhaps Marling did kill the entire family on Earth 2 and came to Earth 1 to see whether she had done the same...

Anyway, great movie, and I aim to watch this again soon. I hope the above makes sense haha.