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★★★★☆

The acclaimed indie hit that was the winner of the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film and the Jury Prize at the Sundance
Film Festival, Another Earth, will open this year’s Raindance Film Festival on the 28th September.

Another Earth follows the story of Rhoda Williams (played by Brit Marling) an intelligent and ambitious young woman who at 17 is full of potential, naive and reckless. A fateful accident led to Rhoda spending four years in prison and giving up her dreams of studying Astrophysics at MIT.  She lives in a world where another planet, mysteriously similar to our own has appeared in the sky. Driven by the desire to find a sense of atonement, she finds herself at the door of a composer by the name of John Burroughs (William Mapother, Lost) whose life was changed irrevocably by her actions and an unlikely relationship develops. When Rhoda wins the chance to travel to ‘Earth 2′ it risks exposing the hidden truth between them. The trailer gives alot of the plot away so there isn’t much room for twists and suprises, so it’s a good job it’s more of a pchycological study.

The majority of the film was shot chronologically to really concentrate on the character’s developement and their relationships and Brit, Mike Cahill (Director) and William spent 8-10 hours a day rehearsing and improvising. Despite this, the transition from uncomfortable awkwardness to closeness between the main characters was mostly portrayed in a cringeworthy wii boxing montage. The shoestring budget means there are alot of grainy shots because of the lack of lighting and some of the more ambitious and artistic ones don’t pay off aswell as they were probably intended. There were however a lot of artistic shots that did work which more than made up for it including a moving and dramatic crash scene. And where there was sunlight, it was made the most of.

If you’re expecting a sci-fi film, this isn’t one. Another Earth is an introspective story based on a single question. ”What would it be like to truly meet yourself?” The film holds a giant mirror up to the planet, humanity and it’s protagonists. It starts with two people who lose everything that they have to identify themselves with; family, freedom, future and friends; and forces them to look into themselves and discover who they really are.

You can catch Another Earth at the Raindance Film Festival Opening Night Gala or wait until Dec 2 when it hit’s the UK cinemas.