Review: Another Earth

Within the span of one month, some Australian audiences will be able to see two films that explore similar territory. Despite the films’ science-fiction leanings, the 1998 battle for box office supremacy between Deep Impact and Armageddon this is not. No, with Lars von Trier’s Melancholia set for release mid-December and Mike Cahill’s Another Earth currently in limited release, Australians get the opportunity to see two films about Earth being under siege from an encroaching planet that aims to provide doom and hope in equal measure, depending on your circumstances.

Cahill’s (Boxers and Ballerinas) film looks at the nature of duality, regret and consequence. Rhoda Williams (Brit Marling, who also co-wrote and co-produced) is a popular high schooler with an acceptance into college, but on a drunken drive home from a party she listens to a radio report about a mysterious new planet that’s been discovered within our galaxy. With her eyes off the road she veers head on into another car, killing two of its three occupants. Upon being released, this new planet has been identified as something altogether bizarre: a second Earth. The ramifications of this discovery – there’s a second everyone out there – have far-reaching consequences, but Rhoda is more interested in making amends with the man, John Burroughs (William Mapother, Grudge), whose wife and son she, unbeknownst to him, killed four years earlier.

Rhoda Williams (Brit Marling) longs for forgiveness

Buried within Another Earth’s framework is a wonderful sci-fi movie, but Cahill and Marling have unfortunately set it amongst this otherwise drab and predictable human drama. Like Blue Valentine, but not as immediate and richly textured, Another Earth plumbs some seriously bland territory. Reduced to working as a high school janitor, Rhoda becomes friends and eventually lovers with the house-ridden John, but as seen through the murky blue and brown cinematography it lacks any sort of physical or emotional punch. They’re miserable sods for a reason, but even when they find some happiness with each other the film fails to utilise this and instead merely finds more dank shadows to play around with.

John Burroughs (William Mapother) and his telescope

Only when the film focuses on “Earth 2” does it become truly engrossing. A competition to find a regular, everyday citizen to visit the planet sees Rhoda confront her selfless desire to make John’s life better with her own selfishness to escape. The idea that, perhaps, there’s a second Rhoda out there who didn’t make the mistakes she did is a fascinating one that could have been explored so much better. The closing scene offers a tantalising glimpse at the movie Another Earth perhaps should have been, but which it sadly never becomes. Audiences would be best to wait for Melancholia and see how this story can really be done.

Another Earth has a limited release at Cinema Nova in Melbourne from November 24th

Director: Mike Cahill

Cast: Brit Marling, William Mapother, Robin Taylor, Jordan Baker and Flint Beverage