Watched: Another Earth
Observations:
- This was very different. In a good way.
- Also massively mis-marketed, which I already knew about, but don’t go into this expecting science fiction. Sure, there are elements, but really the science fiction elements are a plot device rather than a huge texture. It’s a small, highly charged drama that’s principally between two characters (co-writer Brit Marling, and Willam Mapother, who is stunningly brilliant in this and completely erases Ethan from Lost from your memory), and all the better for it.
- It’s funny that this is the first time that my complaints about a film have been solely technical: the camerawork could have done with being a bit more measured (it’s principally hand-held, and loses the meditative touch a little as a result) and the closing music wasn’t great in that it mirrored the opening (which was tonally hugely different). Aside from that, though, it’s very impressive, especially as an independent feature.
- The script, in particular, is perfectly minimalist, bravely choosing silence over filling the air with waffle. Marling’s character, on reflection, probably only has a few pages of dialogue, but she feels solidly grounded as a character; Mapother’s role could have been an exercise in melodrama, but he handles it perfectly. Apparently he’s a cousin of Tom Cruise, which is bizarre.
- See this. Expect something small, and you’ll walk away thinking you’ve seen something enormous.