The Movie
While not exactly forging a new sub-genre (Don McKellar's Last Night tread vaguely similar ground), the minimalist science-fiction drama Another Earth can put itself in that exclusive niche of films that draw us in with a fascinating premise and keep us there with a deeply human tale. On the night of the sudden discovery of a duplicate planet in our solar system, brilliant, beautiful student Rhoda (Brit Marlin) and college professor John (William Mapother) are involved in a brutal car crash. John is out with his young son and pregnant wife, both killed, and Rhoda is to blame, drunk driving after celebrating her acceptance to MIT.
Four years later she is released from prison, taking a job as a high school custodian, but soon posing as a maid to gain entry into the now-retired, post-coma professor's home. She wants desperately to tell him who she is and what she's done, but can't seem to muster up the courage. In the meantime however, household duties give way to friendship and then something more, complicating her life and setting him up for a terrible revelation.
And what of Earth 2? Our top scientific minds have been analyzing it from afar, determining that it can support human life. In fact, it does, at a level of civilization comparable to our own. Eventual attempts at communication reveal even more startling similarities, including the possibility that every one of us here has an exact doppelganger over there.
A contest is being held with the prize of a trip to Earth 2 and Rhoda, increasingly lost in her own life in the wake of her deeds, is among the many who enter. The events that follow might seem predictable at first, but are ultimately full of surprises.
The Picture
Another Earth is an award-winning independent film made on a reported budget of less than $200,000. (The filmmakers share some interesting tales of the production in the extras.) One of the cost-controlling measures was to shoot the film not only on digital video but on 720p digital video, and so the 1.85:1 image here--upconverted to 1080p/24--is definitely not optimal Blu-ray quality. The picture is soft but it also suffers from all of the other issues we would expect: gross blacks, harsh brights, wonky contrast and significant noise. Some well-lit close-ups are fine, but in general the low-budget is obvious.
The Sound
The disc's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack is another story. Sonically, the movie is almost entirely dialogue, or narration, which is always clear and uncompromising. There's also quite a bit of music, which not only benefits from the high resolution of Blu-ray but also from a deft multichannel mix that does wonders to envelop the viewer. The different speakers also contain a host of incidental noises from time to time. Quite well done.
The Extras
Seven deleted/alternate scenes (about nine minutes total, with some behind-the-scenes content and bloopers mixed in) show the lengths that the filmmakers went to in their efforts to really explore these characters and aspects of the story we might not have considered. There are also two very brief promotional clips that provide background on the movie as well as some scientific theories, in addition to a kinda cool music video. All of this content is in HD.
Repurposed from Fox Movie Channel are quick video profiles of hyphenate director Mike Cahill and the two stars, all in SD. Disc Two is a DVD of the movie, while Disc Three carries a Digital Copy for iTunes or Windows Media. Two free song downloads are also included.
Final Thoughts
While not necessarily a reference-quality Blu-ray, Another Earth is a highly original slow-burn drama with some bold, intelligent ideas at its core. Viewers looking for a "mature" science fiction film might be as pleasantly surprised as I was.
Product Details
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