Review of Another Earth (2011) by Steven C — 06 Apr 2012

Mike Cahill's "Another Earth" was one of the most emotionally powerful films I have ever seen. It's intriguing because the film has not a single scene of outward displays of emotion. The emotion is communicated to the audience through simple character action. This makes the film ultra suspenseful, bordering on thriller territory. You simply never know what will happen or how the characters will react to any given situation. This is all heightened by the science-fiction aspect of the story. The metaphysical aspects are a great support for this tiny little redemption drama. The sci-fi acts as a bed with which the drama can be supported, making it all the more resonant. The performances by Brit Marling and William Mapother extraordinary. Marling, whom has rarely acted before, gives a stunning, gut wrenching performance. And like I said, it's all delivered without scenes of grand melodrama. What you get with "Another Earth" is an incredibly complex emotional drama and a fascinating exploration of metaphysics and the human spirit. The ending scene is mindblowing if given the proper analysis. This is an incredible film and one of, if not, my favorite film from 2011.

Note: Please don't get wrapped up in the 'realism' of the science-fiction. You will be setting yourself up for failure. The duplicate earth is just meant to be a metaphor. Besides, this is about metaphysics, THEORETICAL metaphysics. It's not like they are claiming any of this to be true... it's just interesting ideas. After all, it's FICTION.