Another Earth (2011, Brit Marling)

Discussion in 'Off Topic Area' started by aikiMac, Jul 11, 2012.

  1. aikiMac

    aikiMac aikido + boxing = very good Moderator Supporter

    This is perhaps the oddest movie I have seen. I was left wondering, "What was that about? And, did I like it?"

    What made it odd was the camera angles, and the camera focus, and the short shots. At first it bothered me, but as the movie continued I realized it was helping with the mood. The mood is gloomy, on purpose. Rhoda, a high school senior who is an astronomy and physics geek, has a party with her teenage friends when she is accepted to M.I.T.. Afterwards she drives home, drunk, and gets distracted by a radio news story about a new planet with life on it that has just been found. Looking at the stars she crashes into a stopped car. Bam, pregnant wife is dead, little son is dead, and father is in a coma.

    The car crash is the most wicked I have seen in a movie. BAM! It's so fast and so furious.

    But I digress. Rhoda goes to prison for several years and comes out a shell of person. She sets her bedroom up like a prison cell. She doesn't want to talk very much, not even to her family. She takes a job as janitor so she won't have to think or interact. The closeups of her, the way she looks and moves, the minimal dialog, the winter season, and the soundtrack all work together to make something simultaneously boring and captivating. This girl is hurt. I really felt her pain. She's also gorgeous, and in hindsight I think that was a significant factor that made the closeups work. Even with messed up hair and mostly a frown and a gloomy jacket, she is strikingly beautiful. Underneath the gloom we get the hint of the happy life this girl was supposed to have at M.I.T..

    That new planet has life on it. That new planet is an exact copy of Earth (hence the title of the movie). That new planet is the buzz. We get bits and pieces of news reports of scientists discussing and theorizing about "Earth Two," and it builds up to questions about second chances. Does Rhoda have a twin on that planet? And if so, did that twin make the same dreadful choice that Rhoda made? What would they talk about if they met? Can they meet? What about the man whose family Rhoda killed -- did they die on Earth Two, or are they still alive? Can he meet them? What would happen if he did? What would happen if he met Rhoda? He told his brother he'd kill the person who killed his family, but, maybe he could forgive her now?

    I won't give away the ending, but I will say that it was a satisfying cliffhanger. We don't get all the answers, but that turns out to be not important. Sometimes just thinking about the questions is enough, and sometimes forgiveness comes without words.

    Recommended. It has a slow start, but stick with it, and it will stick with you.
     
  2. Bigmikey

    Bigmikey Internet Pacifist.

    That was a fabulous review, sir!
     
  3. aikiMac

    aikiMac aikido + boxing = very good Moderator Supporter

    Commentary on the other janitor

    Can you hate yourself so much that the mere sight of yourself causes you to blind yourself? If so, how do you find forgiveness?

    Read that review after watching the movie. It helps explain the hospital scene with Purdeep, the other janitor.

    Heck, you can read it before the movie, too. It's not too much of a spoiler, and it helps help explain the point of the movie.

    The Purdeep guy is messed up, but understandable. Guilt is mightily powerful.
     
  4. Princess Haru

    Princess Haru Valued Member

    It had a rawness in editing and handheld/close ups, sound and lighting that made me think it was mumblecore but has the edge over these type of films. Her other 'cleaning' job and the closeness was beautiful and yet difficult to watch because of that crash at the beginning, her guilt was leading to odd decisions and as the viewer you felt this can only end badly. The ending made me think and I would watch it again.
     

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