Another Earth (2011)

On the night of the discovery of a duplicate planet in the solar system, an ambitious young student and an accomplished composer cross paths in a tragic accident.

Director:

Mike Cahill

Writers:

Mike Cahill, Brit Marling

Stars:

William Mapother, Brit Marling, Matthew-Lee Erlbach

7 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Mapother	...	John Burroughs
Brit Marling	...	Rhoda Williams
Matthew-Lee Erlbach	...	Alex
DJ Flava	...	Himself (voice)
Meggan Lennon	...	Maya Burroughs
AJ Diana	...	Amos Burroughs
Bruce Colbert	...	Symposium Speaker
Paul Mezey	...	Symposium Speaker
Ana Valle	...	Symposium Speaker
Jeffrey Goldenberg	...	Symposium Speaker
Joseph A. Bove	...	Symposium Speaker (as Joseph Bove)
Jordan Baker	...	Kim Williams
Flint Beverage	...	Robert Williams
Robin Taylor	...	Jeff Williams (as Robin Lord Taylor)
Rupert Reid	...	Keith Harding

Storyline

Seventeen year-old Rhoda Williams receives an acceptance letter from MIT and she celebrates with her friends. On the same night, a planet similar and close to Earth is discovered and called Earth 2. Rhoda drives her car looking at Earth 2 and crashes with composer John Burroughs, killing his pregnant wife and his baby son. Rhoda goes to prison and four years later she is released and moves to her parents' house. She finds a job as high-school janitor, but tries to commit suicide. She survives, however, and submits an essay to a contest where the prize is a ticket to travel to Earth 2. Meanwhile the scientists discover that Earth 2 is a mirror of Earth and the synchronicity between the dwellers was interrupted when the planets were seen by each other. One day, Rhoda decides to visit John Burroughs, whose life was destroyed after the death of his family, to admit to him that she had killed his family. However she does not have the nerve to tell him the truth. So she lies and tells him ...

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Plot Keywords:

solar system | duplicate | student | planet | bedroom | 

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for disturbing images, some sexuality, nudity and brief drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Fox Searchlight [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 October 2011 (France)

Also Known As:

A Outra Terra

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$77,740 (USA) (22 July 2011)

Gross:

$1,316,074 (USA) (30 September 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Artists Public Domain

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Williams's house is actually director Mike Cahill's mother's house.

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Goofs

When John asks Rhoda if she wants to look in the telescope at Earth II, the lens cap appears to be on the end of the telescope. However, the "cap" is actually a aperture stop, that is a cap with a hole in it, which becomes clear momentarily near the end of the scene just before she quips, "I wonder if I am cleaning your house (on Earth II)?"

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Quotes

[first lines]
Rhoda Williams: I saw this image when I was a kid. The photograph of Jupiter taken by NASAs Voyager. Beautiful. But nothing special until shown in rapid succession. Suddenly Jupiter was alive. Breathing. I was hypnotized.

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Connections

Featured in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #2.1 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Another Earth"
Performed by Natalia Paruz
Written by Scott Munson
Published by Ameriklectic Music

User Reviews

Not flashy or overly impressive but still undeniably entertaining

There are two irreplaceable stars to this fairly low budget movie, one the beautiful vision of the second earth itself, and two, Brit Marling, the beautiful protagonist who is in almost every frame. This is not a sci-fi movie in any real sense. The second earth is just a convenient device to explore the real subject of this film, the anguished journey of a young woman who has committed a horrific crime lacking any real intent.

It's easy enough to get the details of that crime before seeing the movie but suffice it to say that there was a similar incident with a young woman in my town in the near past so it had an extra level of relevance for us.

In the local case the girl got away scot-free. This movie's protagonist not only doesn't get away unscathed, she struggles in an utterly humane way to overcome her guilt. For that Brit Marling is an exquisite choice of actress who held my attention and sympathy throughout. All the more impressive because she shared writing credits with the director, Cahill.

This is an artful if bare bones film that you will forgive for having to resort to fantasy to make its points. It definitely makes me wonder what this Mike Cahill might come up with next.