Another Earth

Plot synopsis:
Rhoda Williams (Brit Marling), a brilliant 17-year-old girl who has spent her young life fascinated by astronomy, is delighted to learn that she has been accepted into MIT. She celebrates, drinking with friends, and in a reckless moment, drives home intoxicated. Listening to a story on the radio about a recently discovered Earth-like planet, she gazes out her car window at the stars and inadvertently hits a stopped car at an intersection, putting John Burroughs (William Mapother) in a coma and killing his pregnant wife and son. Rhoda is a minor, so her identity is not revealed to John. After serving her juvenile prison sentence, and after four years of isolation, Rhoda continues to shield herself from the world outside, becoming a janitor at a local school, wanting to work "physically", almost as a means to struggle past the potential she has squandered with the decision of a single night.
After cleaning her former high school for a while and hearing more news stories about the mirror Earth, Rhoda visits John's house after he has recovered, thinking she will apologize for the harm she did to him. He answers the door and she loses her nerve. Instead, she pretends to be a maid offering a free day of cleaning as a marketing tool for Maid in Haven (a New Haven-based maid service). John, who has dropped out of his Yale music faculty position and is now living in a depressed and dirty stupor, agrees to Rhoda's offer. When she finishes, John, who still does not know she is the person who killed his wife and son, asks her to come back next week. Rhoda tells him someone will come, but it may not be her.
Despite her fear, Rhoda returns to clean and begins to develop a caring relationship with John that eventually becomes more significant and romantic. They like each other and are intelligent and compatible conversationally. Rhoda genuinely wants to be of service to him.
Rhoda enters an essay contest sponsored by a millionaire entrepreneur who is offering a civilian space flight to the mirror Earth. Rhoda's essay is selected, and she is chosen to be one of the first explorers to travel to the other Earth. Rhoda tells John she has won the space flight, but he asks her not to go. He tells her that they might have something together. Faced with this, she finally decides to confront him with the truth and tells him that she was the one who killed his wife and son. He struggles to accept this information and becomes upset. He forcibly removes her from his house.
Rhoda hears a scientist postulating in a telecast that the citizens of the mirror Earth might be identical to those on her Earth in every way until the moment they learned of the others' existence. From that point on, the identical people on the different Earths probably began to deviate in small ways, changing their actions. Hearing this, Rhoda realizes that her identical self on the other Earth may not have caused the accident.
Excited, Rhoda rushes back to John's house, but he is still in shock and will not listen. She breaks into the house, and, unable to talk to John properly, leaves him the ticket to the other Earth, telling him enough information to give him a small hope that his wife and son might be alive on that planet. John accepts the gift and becomes one of the first civilian space travelers to the other Earth.
Four months later, Rhoda looks up at the sky where Earth 2 is now hidden in fog. She approaches her back door and sees her other self from Earth 2 standing in front of her.

Tags: psychological, murder, flashback, psychedelic, tragedy, romantic, storytelling

Review:
I scanned the billboard for anything that might seem vaguely interesting - "Another Earth" sounded science fiction-y so I bought my ticket and went in.It's important I explain this for two reasons: first because I saw this movie "tabula rasa", having not seen trailers, read reviews or having any idea what it was about.
Having seen the high budget yawn-fest "Transformers" I can actually say that given the current state of big budget science fiction this is a refreshing, if a bit left-field approach to the genre.Evidently my companion viewers in the cinema, a small group of guys, were not getting as much out of the deeply troubled love story that forms the basis of the plot, and they made their discontent very audible to my irritation.In brief, not a film for everyone, but if you're in the mood for an introspective slow-burner and you've got the patience for it, this film will prove a rewarding experience.
Other Earth is all about beauty, the attention to detail and the simple yet delicate story.Its a lot like those many many beautiful Japanese movies (Tokyo Story comes to my mind, though I have to say its not as good as that).
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).
Not to say that it is a bad movie, but I just felt that the whole Earth 2 concept was wasted on it, it felt more like and add-on than an important central plot for the story..
If you on the other hand like to see people trying to better themselves and turn their life around (inspirational stuff, this is probably more your cup of tea!).Finally: everyone has a right to their own opinion, I can understand why some people might love this film however it was certainly not for me.Thanks for reading..
While driving home drunk, Rhoda looks up into the sky to get a look at this new planet and smashes into another car, instantly killing the wife and child of Yale music professor John Burroughs (William Mapother) who goes into a coma.
But as her relationship with John deepens, she must decide not only whether or not to leave for the new world but also if she can confess her identity to the man she took everything from.Somewhere inside Another Earth there exists a worthwhile indie drama that has a bit of promise.
Likewise, I think director Mike Cahill (also co-writer) shows some talent behind the camera and a knack for finding the right shot for the situation, heightening the drama in the already tense atmosphere of his film.
For example, in the beginning earth 2 is a tiny blue dot in the far distance but by the end of the film, the planet is a giant colossus dominating the skyline both day and night.
Another Earth is a low budget, indie, character drama with an intriguing sci-fi idea, never explored to its potential.
Another Earth (1:32, PG-13) — other: drama, bargain basement, originalDo not go to see Another Earth for the science fiction, which is howlingly ludicrous.In fact, the film would've played better if the entire SF premise had been subtracted from it altogether, which would only have cut its 92-minute running length down to about 83 or 84.It's a tiny independent movie, with everything that implies: hand-held single camera, extreme close-ups, long pregnant pauses, characters staring portentously off into the distance, Goodwill costuming, 2 obviously private homes used as sets, and a microscopic cast; William Mapother and writer-producer Brit Marling get about 97% of the screen time.I won't waste your time on the un-freaking-believable plot premise about how an exact duplicate of Earth (yes, exact!
For some reason, this space junkie hasn't yet heard of its appearance, even tho it's currently bigger and brighter than Venus, so she's looking up at it thru the open moonroof when another car crosses her path.Four years later, after her stint in prison (where, as a minor at the time of her crime, her identity was not revealed), she trepidatiously approaches the home of John Burroughs, the college professor and musical composer whose wife and young son were killed in the collision, intending to apologize.
Burroughs, who's been living despondently in a pigsty, accepts, and the rest of the movie is about their subsequent relationship, with the occasional jarring and largely irrelevant reference to Earth 2 thrown in as a distraction.It's a drama, ruined by bolting on bad science fiction.
id like to have given a score of 0 but IMDb wont let me, the other reviews on IMDb that gave it a score of 1 have said it all really, idiotic story, so boring you'll want to walk out of the cinema within 20 minutes and go spend your time doing anything other than watch this dire excuse for a film.
Instead the characters both need massive professional help and just as you care about the subjects, they let you down and you wish the movie would just end.The science of the movie is so far from reality it makes fun of anyone that took any science class in high school.Who gets pleasure watching movies of people that need professional care to get over their issues, unless you also have serious issues and feel solace in seeing others in your same condition?I wish I would have read other reviews instead of the first few that praised the film for its "deep thoughts".
If I could describe this film in a sentence, it would be: "Are you freaking kidding me?"The title, cover and trailer suggest a scifi movie, but it ISN'T.The entire movie I kept asking, "okay, now where is the second earth part?", that is nothing more than a earth (and every time with a different size) stamping every new chapter, besides this, it is just drama circling a guilty minded girl.I could even notice the same white car 3 times in the movie, showing how short the budget was.
I'm really disappointed, not due my lost time watching a childish drama, but this idea "second earth" could be explored in so many ways I couldn't describe, even with possible Hollywood clichés, with a high budget, a competent writer this could be an remarkable movie..
Awful, from the trailer I was expecting sci-fi movie, but it's like 10% of that and more lovey dovey and poor dramatic acting about some girl who killed some guys family and regretting what she did, it slowly goes on like that.Very misleading description, trailer and possibly title, If there was ever a movie to walk out off, this would be it.The basic sci-fi idea of this film would of had potential if they did away the whole rest of the boring stuff.Ed Wood made better films than this and he's named worse movie director..
Anyone who sees this film will be looking at their watch wondering whether Brit Marling (actress & co-writer) is famous yet.In the Q & A, a Russian-accented man asked about the physical possibilities of the story and it's holes.
This type of other worldly phenomenon can play out as an interesting influence on a very human story, but here it just left me confused about what was the real point.Another Earth has a concept that gets you in, but feels so underdone.
The last 20 seconds of the film -- the final scene -- was better than the entire rest of the movie put together, but that's not saying a whole lot.
I just feel like I owe a serious warning to people who might be intrigued by a recent "7"-rated movie that appears to explore a sci-fi theme.
Sometimes when I read positive reviews I can't help thinking that the film makers family and friends have gone to very, very great efforts to make it seem that lots and lots of people think the movie is really good.
It must back more under its belt.The story is about Rhoda Williams (played by Brit Marling, who also wrote and produced the film), a woman bound for MIT and hopefully intriguing things in life.
Her and the man, John Burroughs (Mapother), start to become increasingly close, which leads to personal demon conflicts with Rhoda.Oh, and that Earth-like planet that was in the sky?
Earth 2 exists because on its planet there are supposedly doppelgangers of humans (to show the better side of people, get it?) It's almost like Another Earth is self-obsessed in the sense where it feels to get noticed it needs to make you think way too hard.
Despite what Rhonda says early in the film when she's narrating, people did NOT think the Earth was flat during the time of Columbus.
I always watch a film for the first time with a completely open mind, regardless of what reviews I've read, or previews I may have seen, and I try not to expect anything at all but to be entertained in some way.
The acting was wonderful, the visuals were just about perfect, and all the elements came together in a thoughtful and well-orchestrated experience.If I were to express any negative critiques at all, I would say that (a) it's a slow-moving film which may not be to all tastes, and (b) that I felt, more than once, that the editing lingered just a second or two longer at the end of a scene than what may have been necessary, sort of like trying to stretch out the overall running time.I loved this movie, and will watch it again, and again..
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.
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.
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.
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.
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..
I liked the concept of the film of an alternate Earth and the acting was decent...you wont see no Oscar nominations coming from this one.
Unless it comes out of Hollywood, or sometimes despite that fact, it's seen as popular with a specific group of people but not respectable with a larger audience.What's interesting about Another Earth is that it in some ways attempts not to be a sci-fi film despite the basic premise of it.
Even though the concept of the film isn't hindered in any way by the idea of another earth and in many ways is not central to the story, I think it keeps people from considering a really great film.Yes, the film did fairly well at the box office for what it did.
What sells it is the fact that the two main characters are very much focused on a single event, an event which we witness in the film so we understand exactly where each of them is coming from and why they do the things they do.I actually had an idea that was somewhat similar to this in that it was a sci-fi fantasy story which centred around a single event or idea but I wasn't certain it would work.
It's provocative, touching, and masterful, and much of its success is due to the unerring, passionate performance by star Brit Marling, who co-wrote the movie with director Mike Cahill.On the very day that a planet that appears to mirror our own in every physical way, a teenager who has just been accepted to MIT carelessly crashes her car into another, killing a woman and her son and leaving the husband/father in a deep coma.
So much so that i sometimes find myself watching an utterly hideous mass-produced junk film like, let's say, X-Men First Class, knowing full well before-hand that i was going to hate every minute of it, but still clinging to the hope of taking pleasure in seeing another gloriously outlandish world unfold on screen.That's the most enticing promise of science-fiction, isn't it?
Sure, that is a tiny detail, but as more details from that kind are accumulated, we notice the maturity from Marling and Cahill, who are not afraid of telling the story on its own terms, because they simultaneously bring us the clues and necessary tools in order to follow it clearly, and to "plunge" ourselves into the characters' experiences.In conclusion, I can recommend Another Earth, because despite its science fiction angle feeling a bit forced and some questionable turns near the end (which however did not avoid the film from reaching a satisfactory ending), it kept me very interested and it provoked an emotional effect on me..
I read a little about it before watching it, and I discovered it was a low-budget indie movie that won some awards at a few film festivals.
There's a thought-provoking ending scene that seemingly validates the movie's sci-fi backdrop, but it feels like an afterthought.
The conjunction of Earth 2, our doppelganger as close as the moon, has profound effect on the life of troubled teen, Rhoda (Brit Marling).After spending 4 years in prison for the automobile manslaughter of a family, with its dad, John (William Matopher), in a long coma and just recovering, Rhoda withdraws from the world, taking cleaning jobs that keep her from connection with her fellow human beings.
If you're open to a unique film that conveys "life lessons" in a highly entertaining and artful way, I think you will enjoy Another Earth..
But it is still an excellent movie to please people wanting something intelligential.On the day another planet that could support life is discovered in the Solar System, teenager Rhoda Williams (Brit Marling) kills a woman and her child while driving drunk.
But if you like to see SF used to focus on the nature of OUR world and OUR species, you're in luck.The film engages head and heart in equal measure, using a parable/fable/allegory approach that makes it timeless; people will be watching, loving, admiring, and teaching this movie for generations.Best final shot since the 1968 PLANET OF THE APES.Brit Marling should play "Dayna Clay" in the now-in-development film version of my 2002 novel UNPLUGGED ( www.paulmccomas.com/unplugged).
With 2 wins at the Sundance Film Festival early this year the independent movie ANOTHER EARTH shares a message that allows the viewer to connect with its themes in many angles.
Enough said that the second Earth that we discover right next to us is a metaphor, a plot device, and not something that makes this movie a sci-fi one.
That film is definitely not for everyone but if you like independent and strange movies it's very good choice.
Second to this, and more important for this film, is that no matter how big or small the earth-2 is in various shots, it's just like real life --- we use our personal filters to view the world, and now we are experiencing another's filters, that is, becoming involved in their story.
One of the achievements of this film (and I think this is Brit Marling's contribution) is the great tension created, like in the best adventure stories that, in the end, are not so much resolved as given new life.