So....I just finished Another Earth (So my thoughts might be a little scrambled)...and I'm not quite sure what to say. Not that I don't have anything to say, it's just my brain is just confused.
I can't say I didn't enjoy it, because I did, but I can't say I really enjoyed it either, because I didn't actually enjoy it all that much. It just sort of sits in this really weird grey zone. I think that might be mostly due to the (VERY) indie styling of the entire thing, the handheld cameras, the sparse single piano score, the long stretches of silence, the desaturated and just on the edge of grainy footage, the very cool concept that merely sits in the background for the overly and overtly emotion based story that tries so damn hard to make sure you know this is a story about humans in pain and dealing with shit. It tries so hard to make me understand that, yet going through it I just found myself not caring, but not in the "Oh it's a movie, so why should I care." way, but in the way that I was looking at these people and buying into the movie and yet going "I don't really care about anything you're doing right now."
Now granted, it is pretty much exactly what it looks like. An indie film by a first time writer/director who didn't have a huge amount of experience. (Written and directed by mark Cahill if interested)
But the positives!
The budget is listed at $200,000 and to that I say Fucking Bravo everyone. There isn't really anything that jumped out at me and pulled me out from a technical level. What little effects work there is is solid (Mostly just comping in the other earth in every other shot, and a very quick car crash effect, unless I missed a bunch of invisible effects), and the picture is at least competently and consistently shot.
And I will say this, the lead actress, Brit Marling (also known as Brita's gay friend on Community) is stunning, in every sense of the word. Every single second she's on screen (Which is most of them) I'm enthralled, she's just damn good and absolutely gorgeous. I really really hope to see her in more (read: better) stuff.
I could make this movie. That's one of the nice things about watching it, there's no giant chases or effects or bullshitery, I could totally make this movie right now, kinda gives me just a glimmer of hope.
The concept of the second earth is really damn cool, I was just saddened that they didn't actually do much of anything with it, it was just sort of there as the backdrop upon which to hang the story. (Not an actual complaint at the story, that's how you do that shit, but more just the sci-fi and filmmaker geek in me screaming out for that awesome concept to be explored)
The bad:
The only really outright BAD thing I can lay at this one, (Aside from the blantant "we are an indie movie" styling) is the lead actor, William Mapother. Most of the time he feels like he's operating around maaaaybe 50-60 percent. There's just something missing. Don't get me wrong, he certainly has moments of really great stuff, but for the most part he just kinda feels like he's thinking about his grocery list. Now, I haven't seen in him anything else so I can't say if that's a him thing or a director thing.
And I mean the rest of the cast is about what you would expect from a movie like this, a couple moments of pretty good but mostly just keeping their heads above water.
In conclusion...
I don't know, I just don't fucking know. At times it feels a lot like someone's film school piece where they really wanted it to be ABOUT something but they still weren't quite sure how to actually do that, and at other times it feels like a pretty nicely laid out, subtle movie.
I would say... hmm, watch it, but be prepared for what it is.
Lol. No. No one cares.
