and wins, much to John’s dismay. His life – along with his house – is beginning to feel the benefit of a woman’s touch. But Earth 2 is where Rhoda’s (and Cahill’s) heart really lies. Part-metaphor, part-mystery, part-MacGuffin, it’s an inspired idea that affords Cahill the opportunity to muse on the big questions that so clearly fascinate him. Earth 2 is a counterpart to the fantasy of escape that Rhoda is already enacting with John. But like any fantasy, all it does is reinforce just how trapped we are in the present. It’s a constant reminder of a life just out of reach – at once tempting, promising and mocking. In voice over, Dr Richard Berendzen (a former teaching assistant of Carl Sagan) waxes lyrical, wondering about the mystery of ourselves. Do we – can we – know ourselves? Would we recognise ourselves if we were ever to meet? Then Rhoda tells a story about the first Russian in space, tormented
by a ticking sound whose origin he couldn’t discern. Facing the risk of being driven mad, he closed his eyes and the ticking became a symphony. Is real escape only to be found in the imagination? Is that where rescue and redemption are? Where peace is? If so, what is Earth 2? Cahill raises these questions but isn’t interested in the answers. Of course, there aren’t any answers. Or perhaps there are too many. His film concludes with a crescendo of uncertainty, in a smart twist that throws open new ways of looking at what has gone before. It also, it should be said, suggests narrative inconsistencies that aren’t addressed but should be. It’s a fittingly ambivalent conclusion to an imperfect film – one that swings from sophistication to inelegance, from brainy inquiry to dramatic inertia. Another Earth is original, intelligent and eccentric – a true American indie that deserves to be admired
and supported. But part of that support is respectful criticism of its shortcomings. On second thought, maybe it doesn’t actually announce Cahill’s arrival at all – just the start of a journey that will hopefully take us somewhere worth seeing
Anticipation.
Came out of nowhere with a killer trailer in the dark days of summer. Could this be the antidote to blockbuster fatigue?
Enjoyment. Ye s
a n d n o. T h e r e ’s a l o t t o e n j oy, b u t a b i t o f blockbuster polish wouldn’t have been a bad thing.
In Retrospect. F u l l o f p r o m i s e . Keep an eye on Cahill.
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