Post by StevePulaski on Dec 3, 2011 18:12:38 GMT -5
Rating: ★★
Another Earth is a beauty to look at, but a task to watch and dissect. It compiles a number of shots that feel like a student photography project, and convinces the audience members to "suspend disbelief" so the film can go on its way. I can suspend disbelief for simple things like a second Earth appearing in the sky. I can't when it comes to simple movie-making terms.
This is director Mike Cahill's first feature film. He shot, edited, wrote, and was one of the four people who produced it and got it a limited theatrical release. I commend his efforts, but the direct result is fair at best. I will say that the photography is some of the best I've seen in any independent film. But readers know I can't just praise a film for having beautiful photography. 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. She is coming home from a party when she's had a few too many when she hears on the radio that there's a glowing blue dot in the night sky. That dot is rumored to be a second Earth. She looks out her window to catch a glimpse of it, and in the process, crashes her car into another car and kills a mother, a child, and leaves the father in a coma.
Four years pass. Rhoda is released from jail, and is now working as a school janitor. She wants to live life in a secluded manner, but feels the need to go to the father's house and apologize for the damage and distress she causes. She ultimately loses her nerve and says she's a housekeeper. 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? It now has a name. It's confirmed to be a second Earth, named Earth 2. We couldn't see it for so long because it was supposedly hiding behind the sun. The discovery of this planet is needless, and if extracted from the plot could leave a bunch of metaphors, the film feels like throwing at us, in the dust.
That's my biggest complaint; this film is unfocused metaphorically. It feels like instead of focusing on character development it wants to hold a contest for how many metaphors it can make. Literally almost everything in this film is done for an ambiguous purpose. Rhoda works as a janitor when she's released from prison (to clean up the mess, get it?). 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. It trades pacing for scenery, character development for metaphors, dialog for awkward, abrupt silences, and so on. When it comes to character development, there is a very small amount. Silence is golden in Another Earth, and far too often. There were quite a few scenes of silence in The Tree of Life, another nonlinear film I praised earlier this year. In The Tree of Life, what was going on was enough to keep me interested. The characters, especially Rhoda, use the silence to help them stare off into space. Maybe the start of another metaphor?
But Another Earth does come equipped with perhaps one of the most surreal and stunning scenes this year in film. It involves a woman attempting to make contact with Earth 2 for the first time. The scene was gold and unsettling, and was executed in a way that has me at a loss for words.
Lots of color correction is clear from the post-production hell this probably caused. Some scenes involve a strange tint of blue that almost smothers the picture quality. Though the color enhancement can be intrusive sometimes, when it is applied to the sky and Earth 2 it is exquisite and inventive. Probably some of the sharpest I've seen for an independent film.
Another Earth is a severe independent film, but watching the trailer you probably wouldn't notice. When viewing the trailer, I expected it to break the box office. Not the case, obviously. I never saw or heard of it afterwards. Then I found out its budget and its release were miniscule. I was astounded. The trailer and the film are conducted almost in a limitless way. In the art direction field of course. The rest is on autopilot.
Starring: Brit Marling and William Mapother. Directed by: Mike Cahill.
Another Earth is a beauty to look at, but a task to watch and dissect. It compiles a number of shots that feel like a student photography project, and convinces the audience members to "suspend disbelief" so the film can go on its way. I can suspend disbelief for simple things like a second Earth appearing in the sky. I can't when it comes to simple movie-making terms.
This is director Mike Cahill's first feature film. He shot, edited, wrote, and was one of the four people who produced it and got it a limited theatrical release. I commend his efforts, but the direct result is fair at best. I will say that the photography is some of the best I've seen in any independent film. But readers know I can't just praise a film for having beautiful photography. 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. She is coming home from a party when she's had a few too many when she hears on the radio that there's a glowing blue dot in the night sky. That dot is rumored to be a second Earth. She looks out her window to catch a glimpse of it, and in the process, crashes her car into another car and kills a mother, a child, and leaves the father in a coma.
Four years pass. Rhoda is released from jail, and is now working as a school janitor. She wants to live life in a secluded manner, but feels the need to go to the father's house and apologize for the damage and distress she causes. She ultimately loses her nerve and says she's a housekeeper. 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? It now has a name. It's confirmed to be a second Earth, named Earth 2. We couldn't see it for so long because it was supposedly hiding behind the sun. The discovery of this planet is needless, and if extracted from the plot could leave a bunch of metaphors, the film feels like throwing at us, in the dust.
That's my biggest complaint; this film is unfocused metaphorically. It feels like instead of focusing on character development it wants to hold a contest for how many metaphors it can make. Literally almost everything in this film is done for an ambiguous purpose. Rhoda works as a janitor when she's released from prison (to clean up the mess, get it?). 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. It trades pacing for scenery, character development for metaphors, dialog for awkward, abrupt silences, and so on. When it comes to character development, there is a very small amount. Silence is golden in Another Earth, and far too often. There were quite a few scenes of silence in The Tree of Life, another nonlinear film I praised earlier this year. In The Tree of Life, what was going on was enough to keep me interested. The characters, especially Rhoda, use the silence to help them stare off into space. Maybe the start of another metaphor?
But Another Earth does come equipped with perhaps one of the most surreal and stunning scenes this year in film. It involves a woman attempting to make contact with Earth 2 for the first time. The scene was gold and unsettling, and was executed in a way that has me at a loss for words.
Lots of color correction is clear from the post-production hell this probably caused. Some scenes involve a strange tint of blue that almost smothers the picture quality. Though the color enhancement can be intrusive sometimes, when it is applied to the sky and Earth 2 it is exquisite and inventive. Probably some of the sharpest I've seen for an independent film.
Another Earth is a severe independent film, but watching the trailer you probably wouldn't notice. When viewing the trailer, I expected it to break the box office. Not the case, obviously. I never saw or heard of it afterwards. Then I found out its budget and its release were miniscule. I was astounded. The trailer and the film are conducted almost in a limitless way. In the art direction field of course. The rest is on autopilot.
Starring: Brit Marling and William Mapother. Directed by: Mike Cahill.