This movie is difficult to gauge. The idea of a second earth that shows up out of nowhere is interesting. It puts a very sci-fi twist to things and offers very intriguing possibilities in relation to the story of Another Earth.
The story revolves around a girl named Rhoda, who makes a tragic mistake while driving, that ends up killing a man’s family. Jailed for four years she makes a return to her life only to find out that she can’t move on without making amends for her tragic mistake. She tracks down a man named John, who was husband to the woman and father to the son that Rhoda killed. Not revealing herself, she begins to help John put his life’s pieces back together, while she does the same.
This is a tough story to watch, as you know that nothing good is going to possibly come from her and a budding relationship with John. It’s literally like watching a train wreck in slow motion. The story is powerful, depressing and just filled to the brim with drama. Anyone who has ever made a bad mistake in their life (maybe not the magnitude of Rhoda’s) understands that the first thing you want to do is try to apologize the best way you can. Rhoda’s journey for forgiveness is tough and it’s very slow. Unlike other films that carry the same burden in regards to their characters, director/writer Mike Cahill and writer Brit Marling were willing to let this story take as much time as it needed to make the healing process for both Rhoda and John as believable as possible. It worked out really well in that regard. Movies that contain the same type of story generally want to hurry through the forgiveness process, regardless of the size of tragedy involved. This movie feels like it represents a very delicate situation that needs repairing at a slow pace. The main body of the story is good and it will draw you in.
Having said that, I felt slightly disappointed about the ‘other’ earth in the film. While it is an enormous part of the adventure in the story, it really doesn’t get involved with the main story. It’s like a wrapper that covers the entire story, but once unwrapped it can easily be thrown away. It’s the only thing that makes this film sci-fi, and it’s sprinkled lightly through the film. At the beginning you get this great introduction and little things here and there that make the idea of a second earth really cool. Then it disappears. It reappears at the end just in time to make it worthwhile, especially its involvement with the ending (not giving that away). I would have liked to see more of it in the film. I would have liked for it to be equally as involved with the main story. It simply feels like a gimmick that drives this wonderful tragedy, and that disappoints me. It’s a cool idea that is very ‘Fringe’, but it doesn’t get its proper amount of screen/writing time.
In the end, despite the wonderful performances from Brit Marling (Rhoda) and William Mapother (John), I still wanted more from Another Earth. I wanted more sci-fi involved with the main story. I wanted just a bit more from the ending (though it is very Inception). The main story quenched my thirst for drama, but I still needed a bit more to settle my appetite for sci-fi. It’s a good movie, but it just needed a little bit more substance to make it great.
Now, let’s talk some Blu-ray. The filming seemed to be done on a video camera and transferred to film, which makes sense these days. I know a number of great films that were shot on video and they generally turned out well. The problem with Another Earth on Blu-ray is that most of the film was shot in a blue filter, and it was pretty much a shaky cam all the way. Both of those generally don’t lend well when it comes to transferring a film to HD. The HD that came out of Another Earth was grainy, raw and a bit dirty in some brighter areas. I fully understand that the snowy environment and the blue filter were in place so that Rhoda’s character looked more alone than maybe the dialogue created her as being. The film looked depressing, which was appropriate for the story. Problem is that it doesn’t translate well to Blu-ray HD. Again, video and a blue filter generally mean you get a lot of drab, grainy picture; the film delivers that on Blu-ray. The shots of the other earth in the sky looks pretty, but the generally feel to the video is very drab and lifeless. It does shine in some spots, but mainly it looks drab.
As for the audio, you get the film in 5.1 DTS-HD and you get the 1.85:1 ratio.
Now, for the features, here’s what you’re looking at:
– Deleted Scenes
– Creating Another Earth
– The Science Behind Another Earth
– Fox Movie Channel – Direct Effect with Mike Cahill, In Character with Brit Marling and William Mapother
For a movie that isn’t widely known and only resided in bigger markets, this is pretty impressive when it comes to features. Good info in the two featurettes, excellent deleted scenes and a ‘what you would expect’ from the FMC feature. I like the insight given in both featurettes, especially The Science Behind Another Earth because I had questions. Not bad in terms of special features.