In the new movie Another Earth , a extra of our own planet appears from the far side of the sun , and begin moving towards “ our ” Earth . This could be the set - up for a catastrophe motion-picture show , or a story of state of war between Earths .

What you might not expect is that this premise would lead to an introverted , persona - base drama about two damage hoi polloi who seek to heal from an unspeakable injury , under the light of that second Earth . The movie ’s skill fiction conceit add another layer to the story , instead of being the story . In the middle of a summertime filled with huge concept - drive movies , this Sundance Festival fave is a tonic change .

Spoilers ahead !

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The actual tale of Another Earth is mostly pretty small and contained , especially at first .

Rhoda ( Brit Marling ) is a 17 - year - old MIT natural philosophy student who ’s fascinated and distracted by this newly fall upon other major planet . Rhoda make a terrible mistake — she drives intoxicated and crash her car , killing a womanhood and her child . After Rhoda gets out of prison house four years later , she gets a job as a high - school janitor and seeks out the man whose married woman and son she drink down , John ( William Mapother ) , who has turned into an alcohol-dependent mess . Rhoda tries to spill the beans to John , but is too frightened , so rather she pretend to be there to houseclean his mansion . before long , she ’s coming once a hebdomad to clean John ’s theatre , and she slowly forms a unique bond with the man whose living she destroyed . Meanwhile , Rhoda applies to be one of the first people to jaw Earth 2 .

In the hands of most people , this would be a treacly , heartwarming story , but Another Earth is willing to venture into some very dark dominion — and answer up some existent shocks in the process . Without have too much off , there ’s one supporting character in especial who you mean is going to be a sweet , supportive Quaker to Rhoda suddenly commit a dread , irrevocable bit .

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miss ’s William Mapother is great as John , a music professor and famous avant - garde composer who has fall completely apart , fill up with a dreadful numbness leavened only with passion at the somebody who destroyed his household . His wild , unpredictable performance brings a lot of living to the movie , and provides a great equaliser to the achingly pitiful Brit Marling , who also co - write the screenplay .

The aloneness and desolation in Another Earth is tangible , and the fact that there ’s this other variation of our planet , with all those the great unwashed , hanging overhead just pass water it worse . The same way that it ’s easier to feel lonesome in a crew , the noesis that we ’re not alone just makes us find more alone . The film is full of gorgeous images of Rhoda walk alone , look downcast in her janitorial outfit or hushed street apparel , in a snowy landscape with the washy disc of the other Earth hovering over the horizon .

A would - be space traveler , Rhoda is already an extraterrestrial . She ca n’t relate to people her own age , who ’ve go on to finish college and begin life history while she was in prison . She ’s back in high shoal , but the kids there see her as a lowly janitor and treat her as though she ’s invisible . Rhoda has nothing to stay on our Earth for , and the tantalizing possibility of encounter another rendering of herself , of seeing how her spirit could have been different , keeps haunting her .

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There are a lot of attractively elusive mo in the film , in which the characters seem to be grope towards a form of serenity that comes from mastering your terrible interior dark . Here ’s my favored scene in the movie :

Besides the bravery with which this film faces Rhoda ’s self - loathing and forlornness , the other matter that sets Another Earth apart from your distinctive quirky Sundance dramatic play is the fact that the film does get vainglorious and more blanket . The story of Rhoda ’s inconceivable fascination with the other Earth does in the end come to a head , in a way which I wo n’t reveal — but these two clips , released by Fox Searchlight , do give away :

The actual ending of the film is full of surprises and unearthly twist , which I genuinely did not see coming , and the whole thing comes together in a lovely , poetic fashion .

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That said , Another Earth is n’t a double-dyed cinema . At its core , it is very similar to a set of other Sundance - y dramas about wounded people having complicated , unpretentious relationships , and it will probably work best for people who obsessively see the IFC channel .

Also , you definitely should n’t wait the science of the other satellite and how it get here to be at the vanguard of Another Earth ( see our interview with conductor Mike Cahill and Brit Marling for more about that ) . There is n’t any serious treatment of the effects that another major planet would have on our tides and other geophysical force . To some extent , the other Earth is treated as a metaphor , and also as something that drives the chronicle , rather than being what the story ’s in reality about . The story is very much about the relationship between the two master persona .

But all in all , Another Earth is a beautiful , haunting movie that manages to make its two main characters experience like real people , and makes the fate of these two lost souls seem as vital as what happens to this duplicate Earth . There are a bunch of really arrest moments in the picture show , which will stay with you long after you walk out of the dramatic art .

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Another Earth is out today in New York and Los Angeles , and is opening in more metropolis next weekend .

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