Movies We Love... "Another Earth" (2011)

Another Earth  (2011)

What if another earth, identical to our own, suddenly, inexplicably appeared in the sky? What if it offered the possibility of meeting another you, of having another chance, of correcting a terrible mistake? This film, which we were recently privileged to see, is like an incredibly deep and extended episode of the Twilight Zone. We were unprepared for the emotional depth and philosophic "stretch" it offers. The star, Brit Marling, is a woman with an amazing future in cinema.  The film also features William Mopather as a Yale music instructor whose life becomes linked with our young protagonist in surprising ways. 

This is director Mike Cahill's first feature and was co-authored by Miss Marling who plays the role of Rhoda Williams, a talented high school student who plans to go to MIT and seems to have a bright future.   Driving home after a night of celebration, she hears a radio report of the approach of a planet similar to earth that has just become visible as a tiny blue dot in the night sky.  Distractedly looking through her sun roof, Rhoda causes a fatal accident, irreparably altering her destiny.  

Released after a period of time from juvenile detention, Rhoda changes the course of her life, taking a job as a school custodian because she wants an occupation that will allow her to clean things and not do too much thinking.  Her life becomes almost purgatorial in its simplicity and self-effacement.  In an attempt to repair the damage she has done she stumbles into a relationship with the music instructor whose family and life she has destroyed.  At the same time she learns of an essay contest that will allow the winner a civilian ticket, via commercial spacecraft, to the second earth which has now come to loom like an astral echo in the sky.  Is it possible that traveling to another earth would allow her a chance to erase or repair her tragic past?  Who inhabits the planet?  Is it truly a second earth?  Are there other versions of ourselves living alternative lives on its surface?

There is no way we could adequately prepare you for the emotional impact that this modest project manages to convey.  It seems note perfect in every aspect and will leave you haunted by questions of identity, destiny, and possibility.