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Another Earth

Release Date 09 Dec 2011 TBA

  • User rating
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.
  • Critic rating
  • Currently 2/5 Stars.

  90% of raters want to see this movie

Certificate: 12A

Genre: Drama

In "Another Earth", Rhoda Williams, a bright young woman accepted into MIT's astrophysics program, aspires to explore the cosmos. A brilliant composer, John Burroughs, has just reached the pinnacle of his profession and is about to have a second child. On the eve of the discovery of a duplicate Earth, tragedy strikes and the lives of these strangers become irrevocably intertwined.

Cast:
William Mapother | Brit Marling | Ana Kayne | Meggan Lennon | Diane Ciesla | Niecy Cerise | Matthew-Lee Erlbach

Writers:
Mike Cahill | Brit Marling

Producers:

Directors:
Mike Cahill

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  • Critic rating
  • Currently 2/5 Stars.

Movies.ie Critic Review

ANOTHER EARTH (USA/12A/92mins)

Directed by Mike Cahill. Starring Brit Marling, William Mapother, Matthew-Lee Erlbach, DJ Flava, Meggan Lennon, AJ Diana.

THE PLOT: On the night that our planet’s doppelganger is spotted in the sky, 17-year old Rhoda (Marling, pretty, and pretty bland) is merrily driving home from a party, watching those skies. When she should be watching the road, ploughing into a family of three, leaving the driver, John (Mapother), in a coma, and his wife and child dead. Four years later, Rhoda is released from prison, a shell of a woman, lost in a Flake commercial, contemplating suicide, but settling for the next best thing – janitor at a high school. An attempt to apologise to the still shellshocked John is fumbled into a request for work as a cleaning lady, and before you can say Another Girl, Another Planet, the two broken, dazed strangers find refuge in one another…

THE VERDICT: When it comes to major film festivals, there’s a tendency for everyone involved – the journalists just as much as the distributors – to try and find that hidden low-budget gem that’s going to take the world by storm. It’s this heightened expectation that can turn an intriguing idea with a hot lead and little else into an overnight sensation. Only trouble is, the overnight sensation is often gone the morning after. And so it proves with Another Earth, a Sundance rave that inspired the normally wise Fox Searchlight to slap $1m down on the table. What they’ve gotten for their buck is a lo-fi sci-fi with an intriguing idea (another earth popping up out of the blue; unfortunately, the science here is far more that dick David Blaine than Philip K. Dick) and a hot lead in Brit Marling (who has all the presence of a director’s girlfriend). As for Mapother, his unsympathetic role isn’t helped by the fact that he looks like the lovechild of Jeremy Renner and Tom Cruise (his cousin). As you might have guessed already, this film really annoyed the s**t out of me. RATING: 2/5

 

review by Paul Byrne

  • Avg User rating
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.

User Reviews

    • Currently 3/5 Stars.

    mart

    The wildly improbable set-up is merely the jumping off point for an exploration of grief, guilt and redemption that plays out almost entirely between two people thrown together by circumstance.

    • Currently 2/5 Stars.

    jony_dols

    If you enjoy pretentious, self-important yawn-a-tans, then this is the film for you. An intriguing premise is squandered by the director Mark Cahill, who clearly set out to create 'art' rather than tie together the film's human stories in a coherent fashion. *Caution* Prepare yourself for long periods of silence as the main characters stare at each other intensely for minutes on end.

    • Currently 4/5 Stars.

    vu1999uk

    Really excellent movie, that is brilliantly acted and not afraid to take its time to tell the story. While there is a great science fiction story in here, it is very much the human story that takes centre stage. The drama itself gets quite tense at times, which adds to an excellent climax.

    • Currently 3/5 Stars.

    filmbuff2011

    Another Earth is a low-key but quietly effective film, two parts domestic drama, one part science fiction (or is that science fact?). It reminds me of this year's stunning Melancholia, but it ultimately isn't as good as that film. However, it does have something to say about a young woman finding her way in life and searching for redemption. Is the alternate Earth AKA Earth 2 a way for her to escape her troubled past and find a new future? What would anyone do if they met an exact copy of themselves? It leaves you thinking as the credits roll, but I suspect that the film will fade in people's memories over time. Worth a look though not quite memorable enough.

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