Here’s a neglected science fiction themed indie that deserves a reappraisal. Hailing from 2011, it’s one of the most interesting American films of the era, being the first, and best, of a string of eccentric indies starring actress Brit Marling (which include SOUND OF MY VOICE, THE EAST and I ORIGINS), who also co-wrote and produced the film. It was a hit at Sundance but didn’t get much in the way of a commercial release, and since then has been largely forgotten.
Marling plays Rhoda, an attractive young astronomy enthusiast who’s accepted to MIT on the very day a second Earth miraculously appears in the sky. Rhoda happens to be looking up at “Earth II” while driving, and slams into a car carrying John, a renowned composer, and his family. Only John survives the crash, for which Rhoda serves four years in prison. She emerges a severely alienated introvert who no longer fits in with the crowd in which she formerly ran.
Rhoda makes contact with John, who’s become a dour recluse. In a fumbling attempt at making amends she offers to clean his filthy house, neglecting to reveal her true identity. This leads to a tentative romance, complicated by John’s volcanic temper and the fact that Rhoda is responsible for his current mood.
In the meantime Earth II grows larger in the sky. It’s determined that this planet is a mirror image of our world that was identical in every way until said planet became visible in the sky—at which point the synchronicity between the two worlds was shattered.
A voyage to Earth II has been organized by an eccentric Australian millionaire, who is holding an internet write-in campaign to pick his crew. Rhoda takes part in the campaign, not believing she’ll actually be picked. Shockingly, she is. But she still hasn’t told John the truth about her presence in his life, a revelation with potential consequences that are, as you might guess, pretty damning.
How the script deals with its various conundrums is intriguing and satisfying, if scientifically implausible. That latter point was a sore spot with critics back in ‘11, but I say such concerns are overblown given that most sci-fi movies, even the really good ones, are scientifically questionable (how “scientifically accurate” are METROPOLIS or FORBIDDEN PLANET? Answer: not very!)
The film deserves credit for its deft interweaving of cosmic speculation with very real human drama, something few sci fi movies pull off (although quite a few have tried). Earth II is treated not as a metaphor or throwaway plot point, as such concepts tend to be in low budget sci fi tinged movies like this one, but as a tangible presence with a sizable bearing on the fates of the characters.
The film is hurt, alas, by the type of handheld digital camerawork that was in vogue at the time ANOTHER EARTH was made, which can never seem to keep still and is constantly zooming in and out. What saves the visuals, and the film overall, are the lush and atmospheric Connecticut locations, which have the ironic effect of magnifying the alienation of the central characters. And we mustn’t forget the performances of William Mapother and (especially) Brit Marling, both of whom quite movingly convey an overpowering sense of grief and longing that registers as strongly as the other Earth.
Vital Statistics
ANOTHER EARTH
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Director/Cinematographer/Editor: Mike Cahill
Producers: Hunter Gray, Mike Cahill, Brit Marling, Nicholas Schumaker
Cast: Brit Marling, William Mapother, Meggan Lennon, Aj Diana, Jordan Baker, Flint Beverage, Robin Lord Taylor, Rupert Reid, Natalie Carter, Kumar Pallana