The indie genre is always hit and miss for me. I will either adore a film who absolutely hate it, so when I watched this it was the first time I felt indifferent. Rhoda, having just heard that another planet that can sustain life is viewable, causes a car accident with more than one fatality. Years later, she finds the remaining survivor and attempts to apologise, but her nerves get the better of her and soon starts getting close to them. It is a simple drama about redemption and earning another chance (should've been titled "Another Chance"). The film is good, but completely misses the mark given the idea that a complete replica of Earth appears. A copy of yourself on a different planet. It provokes you to ask the question "if you could tell yourself something, what would it be?"...and yet doesn't fully explore that ever apparent concept. It's a massive shame, because with the indie genre there are no limitations when it comes to storytelling. You aren't constantly having your hand being held so that studios can ensure they gain a profit. You make want you want, and I just feel that this wasn't the intended final product. The sluggish pacing, considering it's only 88 minutes long, hindered the narrative. The whole film is focussed on Rhoda and her internal struggle for forgiveness, but in the end it just doesn't amount to anything. It's far too melodramatic and occasionally comes across as pretentious. The over stylised amateurish direction felt like a TV episode, especially with the constant heavy handed zooming in and out. The script is surprisingly resonant and there are several scenes that were beautifully crafted, particularly where it's just Brit Marling walking and "Earth 2" is in the background. Brit Marling held this film completely, she was utterly captivating and emotionally investing. The ending...well, I don't know. I want to say it doesn't make sense, but I can't detail it without incorporating spoilers. Weird film, maybe just not what I expected?

This movie is about a woman who drinks and drives, so she clashes a car and kills and a kid and the mother. The man who also has the accident loses consciousness for a long time escapes death. She visits his house to apologize the accident, but she cannot do that, and she tells a lie that she is a cleaner and the purpose of visit is cleaning his house. I sympathize with her distress from her expression, voice, and eye. She falls in love with the man, so she would not like to lose this relationship. However, it is heartbreaking for her that she continues to tell the lie. I can understand her conflicts through her painful and sad expressions. I was very impressed with the scene that she tells the truth. I van understand his feelings that his lover kills his wife and child, and she betrays him from his complex expressions. I like this movie because I can enjoy the transition of the characters'' feelings and conflicts of the woman and the man. The ending is very attractive because I am keen to know the world after the ending.

When asking about our universe, I often ponder if science-fiction stories are custom-made to give our inquisitive minds to think outside the box that's in front of our eyes that's there more out there and we're all too blind to see. It delves into outrageous scenarios and builds metaphors that reflect what seedlings our future holds as the world is constantly changing. "Blade Runner" reflects upon the possibility that robotic humanoids can take over our lives and what significance our future has when such an event should happen. Then there's "Godzilla" from 1954 that raised eyebrows at the time when fear of nuclear warfare in Japan could manifest in the future if you could keep your eyes off the mutated lizard. Then you have a film like "Another Earth" which provides an hyperbolic plot that tries to be part of the wacky world of science-fiction, where scientists have been asking if there is a planet similar to Earth that inhabit living creatures like the third planet from the sun. Sadly the premise of a provocative sci-fi story gets bogged down as an after-thought as we have to delve into a pointless drama story with little to ponder about.While it's admirable that writer-director Mike Cahill and writer-performer Brit Marling managed to collaborate and make a film with little effort let alone a meagre budget, very few films fall into that category, even the bad ones. Marling stars here as an adolescent high school graduate Rhoda Williams who's got her life on track as she's been accepted to MIT. But her hopes were crushed when she carelessly got drunk and drove her car into another and killed the wife and son of a Yale professor John Burroughs (William Mapother) which leads her to be jailed for 4 years.After her release, her reputation was shot and the solar system has took a weird turn as another planet has been found that resembles Earth as it rotates the sun. Maybe for the better little is known about this mysterious planet. We don't get very much information about its existence or if it's hiding some subliminal parallel universe or whatnot, all we know it's seen through the naked eye and we can't stop staring at it, drawing conclusions if this super planet is progressively drawing near as it's gravitating towards annihilating our entire solar system. Could this new planet be habitable like Earth and if so, are they s familiar species like us? Every question possible is right there in front of us, but in the end it remains unanswered. After a while all my hopes of any redeemable practical discoveries just stay flat. Because the main story is back here on Earth as the pitiful Rhoda tries to find out more about this John Burroughs which leads us to him residing in a rundown, condemned farmhouse without a single friend in sight. She tries to apologize for his loss, but just can't utter it out by saying that she's a cleaning lady and offers free cleaning service to him. John agrees which leads to her being his weekly maid.To summarize this very narrowly plotted story, we have young Rhoda acting like a maid to this perpetually grieving man John while trying to bravely confess that's she's the leading contributor to his tragic losses. All the while having ample time to gaze at this second Earth thinking if there's another Rhoda Williams there pursuing her studies at MIT and living the dreams that she has lost. With the television world fixated on parallel universes and through the looking glass stories, "Another Earth" blends nicely with FOX's alternative dimension themed series "Fringe". The central theme to this story gives ample time for Rhoda to overlook towards her self-absorbed ways. On this second Earth is there another Rhoda studying the laws of physics from space or is she just dusting attics for another lost soul? Is John's family in tact and enjoying the life on this newly found planet? If you think you got the answers here...well think again. You may have the material in front of your eyes, just not the answers. The main admirable trait that makes this film stand out was the very small if there was any budget in making this film and that imagination is still richer than fame and wealth. Even the scenery looked like it filmed in condemned establishments. The leading stars William Mapother and Brit Marling were emotional in their performances. Marling shows great depth enough to get Hollywood noticed. Sadly, the scientists within us will be upset that the story was reduced to TV-Drama on the Lifetime Network about a young teen going through life and the bad choices she's made. The planet in the background looks nice from afar, but it's just an after-thought to a melodrama of sorrow and redemption.

When I first saw the trailer for this movie, I expected science fiction of the highest order. What viewers of this film quickly find out, however, is that it is far, far from any of those expectations.For a basic plot summary, "Another Earth" opens with Rhoda Williams (Brit Marling) about to go to M.I.T. for college. On the night she is accepted, scientists discover a planet in the night sky that looks exactly like Earth. Trying to get a better look at this planet while driving, Rhoda does not pay attention to the road and crashes into a family vehicle...killing a wife and son and leaving the husband in a coma. Flash-forward four years later and Rhoda is getting out of juvenile prison for her crime. From there, two important things happen that drive the rest of the film: 1. She enters an essay contest to be on the first manned mission to "Earth 2"; and 2. She shows up on the doorstep of John Burroughs (William Mapother), the man whose family she killed who is now out of his coma.The first and most obvious thing that needs to be discussed when reviewing this film is that it really isn't a science fiction movie. In that sense, the trailer and other promotional materials are a bit deceiving. I went into the film thinking as such, and it was wildly different from what I ever would have thought. If you see potential disappointment in this or don't like movies that don't feature a lot of action, "Another Earth" probably isn't for you. Not only will you feel deceived, but you will likely be bored as well.But wait...if (like I) you consider yourself to have an "open mind" when it comes to watching movies and don't mind an odd, "thinking" flick from time to time, I wouldn't rule this one out just yet. Even though I was expecting science fiction and got human drama instead, by the end of the film I was drawn into the plots/characters and really did find myself wanting to know how things would play out. It's almost as if the director/producers of the film pulled a "bait and switch" on me...dropping the seeds of science fiction but then moving to other areas for most of the movie. It just so happened that those areas were interesting enough for me to keep watching.Overall, "Another Earth" isn't a classic film by any means. It is quite slow-moving and extremely contemplative, it promises heady science-fiction while delivering very little, and the ending will leave you with many thoughts left unanswered, that is for sure. Yet, the overall journey of the film is one that will likely keep you interested and intrigued. It isn't for everyone, but "Another Earth" will linger with you for a bit if you give it a chance.