Another Earth (12A)
Starring: Brit Marling, William Mapother
Mike Cahill's thoughtful drama drags the ghosts of two recent movies in its wake. First Rabbit Hole, in which a teenage drunk-driver makes reparation with the parent (Nicole Kidman) whose child was run down; second, and more startling, Lars von Trier's Melancholia, in which a new planet pops up to glower down on Earth.
Brit Marling plays Rhoda, a young woman who's done jail time for her part in a car accident that killed a mother and child. Benumbed with guilt, she bluffs her way into the life of the bereaved husband (William Mapother), a composer-turned-bedraggled recluse with no plans to forgive ("I was afraid what I would do to that kid," he says, little suspecting that the culprit is in front of him). Meanwhile, the sky shows a duplicate earth hovering in the distance, apparently inhabited by our own doubles.
Cahill and co-writer Marling use the phenomenon as a springboard for existential teasers such as: what would you say if you met the "other you"? The conceit is somewhat over-extended by the launch of a public competition – a 500-word essay could win you a flight to "Earth 2", as it's called – seeming merely to reheat the old Hollywood chestnut of what-ifs and second chances. Marling and Mapother are very good as penitent martyr and depressed victim, their relationship a timebomb ticking down to revelation, but the sci-fi premise keeps bumping on the doorways of credibility.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies