Another Earth
Another Earth is a 2011 American science fiction drama film written and directed by Mike Cahill in his feature directorial debut, starring Brit Marling as Rhoda Williams and William Mapother as John Burroughs.[1] The story centers on Rhoda, a promising astrophysics student who, distracted by news of a newly discovered duplicate planet mirroring Earth, causes a fatal car accident that kills a family; four years after serving time in prison, she seeks atonement by reaching out to the accident's sole survivor, a grieving composer.[2] Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2011, the film won the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize for its thoughtful integration of scientific concepts like the multiverse, awarded by Sundance Institute and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to recognize works that highlight science or technology, as well as the Special Jury Prize for Acting for Brit Marling.[3] It was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Dramatic Competition. Cahill, who also served as cinematographer and editor, co-wrote the screenplay with lead actress Marling, drawing from his background in documentary filmmaking to create a low-budget production costing $175,000, which was distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures and grossed over $2.1 million worldwide.[4] The film's introspective narrative blends personal redemption and existential themes with speculative elements, earning praise for its atmospheric visuals and emotional depth despite a modest critical reception of 66% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 133 reviews.[5] It received additional recognition, including two nominations at the 38th Saturn Awards for Best Actress and Best Writing.[6]Narrative and characters
Plot summary
In 2011, astronomers discover a duplicate planet, Earth 2, which is an exact mirror of Earth and becomes visible in the night sky, sparking global fascination and disruption.[7] Seventeen-year-old Rhoda Williams, a gifted astrophysics student who has just been accepted to MIT, attends a house party to celebrate. Distracted by the breaking news of Earth 2 while driving home intoxicated, she crashes her car into the vehicle of composer and professor John Burroughs, killing his pregnant wife and their five-year-old son; the family dog also perishes in the accident, and John slips into a coma from his injuries.[7] Convicted of vehicular manslaughter, Rhoda serves a four-year prison sentence, during which time Earth 2 draws closer, mirroring human society but untouched by the discovery's chaos, leading to societal breakdown on Earth 1 as people grapple with the existential implications.[8] Upon her release, a despondent Rhoda struggles with guilt and isolation, taking a job as a school janitor while entering an essay contest for one of ten seats on a private company's one-way spaceship to Earth 2, offering a chance for personal reinvention.[9] To seek atonement, she tracks down John, now a reclusive alcoholic living in squalor in his family home, and approaches him under the false identity of "Jen," a journalist seeking an interview about his music. Unable to confess immediately, she instead helps clean his house, gradually forming a tentative bond that evolves into an intimate relationship, providing both with fleeting solace amid their shared grief.[5] Rhoda's arc of redemption deepens through her art, as she practices cello and contemplates the parallel lives on Earth 2, where communication reveals identical counterparts living divergent paths.[8] Watching a promotional video, Rhoda recognizes her Earth 2 double—a version of herself unscarred by the accident—performing music, intensifying her longing for a second chance. When she finally reveals her true identity to John, he reacts with rage and despair, banishing her from his life. In a moment of self-inflicted isolation, Rhoda locks herself in an outdoor shed during a harsh winter night, but John rescues her, leading to reconciliation and a deepened connection; he agrees to join her on Earth 2 if she wins the contest.[10] Rhoda ultimately wins the ticket, but in an act of profound sacrifice, she gifts it to John, enabling him to escape his pain and start anew on the parallel world.[11] After seeing John depart on the shuttle, Rhoda returns to the Burroughs house for a final cleaning, symbolizing closure to her destructive past. The doorbell rings, and she opens it to find her Earth 2 counterpart standing there, gazing at her in mutual recognition, implying an encounter between parallel selves and the potential for swapped identities or existential convergence. In a parallel scene on Earth 2, the Earth 1 Rhoda arrives at John's doorstep, completing the film's exploration of mirrored redemption.[8]Cast and characters
The principal cast of Another Earth includes Brit Marling as Rhoda Williams, the film's protagonist, a talented young astrophysicist whose promising future is derailed by personal turmoil and guilt. William Mapother plays John Burroughs, a Yale professor of music composition whose existence becomes marked by profound grief and isolation.[12]| Actor | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Brit Marling | Rhoda Williams | A brilliant 17-year-old aspiring astrophysicist accepted into MIT's program, whose fascination with the newly discovered parallel Earth symbolizes her yearning for redemption and a second chance at life.[12][10] |
| William Mapother | John Burroughs | A grieving composer and academic, withdrawn and haunted by tragedy, whose interactions with Rhoda explore themes of forgiveness and emotional reconnection.[5] |
| Jordan Baker | Kim Williams | Rhoda's supportive mother, navigating family strains amid ongoing challenges. |
| Robin Lord Taylor | Jeff Williams | Rhoda's brother, offering familial perspective and aid in her journey of self-reckoning. |
| Flint Beverage | Robert Williams | Rhoda's father, whose absence underscores the family's fractured dynamics.[13] |
| Kumar Pallana | Purdeep | A philosophical janitor who provides Rhoda with moments of introspection and guidance through his eclectic wisdom. |
Production
Development and writing
The film Another Earth originated from a collaboration between writer-director Mike Cahill and co-writer Brit Marling, who first met while studying at Georgetown University. Cahill drew initial inspiration from a video art piece he created, in which he interviewed himself to explore the concept of confronting an alternate version of one's life, evolving this into a broader philosophical inquiry about parallel existences and personal redemption.[15][16][17] The script was developed collaboratively over approximately two years starting around 2009, with Cahill and Marling prioritizing emotional intimacy and human drama over elaborate special effects or scientific exposition to suit a micro-budget production. Cahill's background in documentary filmmaking and video art influenced this approach, emphasizing authentic character exploration and minimalist storytelling rather than high-production visuals. The duo structured the narrative to focus on personal loss and connection, trimming detailed scientific elements to maintain a concise 90-minute runtime that highlighted introspective themes.[15][18] Early funding proved challenging, leading Cahill and Marling to self-finance the project to retain creative control without external interference, resulting in a modest $175,000 budget.[4] They selected the premise of a duplicate Earth visible in the sky as a visually striking yet low-cost hook, requiring minimal effects—such as practical projections and compositing—rather than expensive CGI for interstellar elements.[19][20][21]Filming and post-production
Principal photography for Another Earth took place over approximately 20 days in the fall of 2010, primarily in and around New Haven, Connecticut.[22][23] The production operated with a minimal crew of fewer than 10 people to adhere to the film's low budget, allowing for a guerrilla-style approach that prioritized intimacy and efficiency.[24][25] Cinematography was handled by director Mike Cahill using digital video captured on a Sony PMW-EX3 camera, enabling flexible shooting in varied locations without the constraints of traditional film stock.[26] Key filming sites included a residential house in the New Haven area to depict the pivotal accident scene, which was staged at Cahill's mother's home for authenticity and cost savings.[27] The opening car crash sequence, a critical emotional set piece, was achieved through practical effects and low-budget rigging—such as a cherry picker substituting for a crane—costing just $200 while delivering visceral impact.[28] Cleaning sequences featuring the protagonist's redemptive labor were shot in disused and rundown interiors, including abandoned buildings, to evoke isolation and decay without elaborate set construction.[29] Visuals of the duplicate Earth (Earth 2) relied on simple on-set projections and practical setups during principal photography, blending seamlessly with post-production enhancements to ground the sci-fi elements in the story's introspective tone. In post-production, Cahill personally handled editing using consumer-grade Adobe Premiere software, a tool he had mastered from prior documentary work, which facilitated a nonlinear assembly that amplified the film's meditative pacing.[30] Visual effects were kept sparse to preserve the indie aesthetic, with the duplicate planet primarily realized through basic CGI composites integrated into live-action footage; these were achieved via stock elements and minimal animations rather than high-end simulations, ensuring the otherworldly presence served the narrative without overwhelming the human drama.[16][31] This restrained approach in both filming and post-production underscored the film's emphasis on emotional depth over spectacle, completed within months to meet its Sundance premiere.Music
Original score
The original score for Another Earth was composed by the Brooklyn-based music collective Fall on Your Sword, founded by Will Bates and Phil Mossman, both former members of LCD Soundsystem.[32]) The score features a fusion of electronic production with classical elements, incorporating piano, cello, and strings alongside ambient and IDM (intelligent dance music) influences to craft a soundscape that underscores the film's introspective sci-fi narrative.[33][26] This stylistic blend creates a delicate equilibrium between organic warmth—evoking emotional intimacy—and aggressive, forward-moving electronic pulses that mirror the story's tension between human vulnerability and cosmic isolation.[32] Compositional techniques emphasized minimalism and layering to heighten atmospheric tension, with electronic textures providing a sense of otherworldly detachment while acoustic instruments like piano and cello added poignant, humanistic depth.[33] The score was developed with the film's modest $175,000 production budget in mind, relying on resourceful home-based recording methods to achieve its intimate yet expansive quality without extensive orchestral resources.[4] Key contributions included cellist Eric Jacobsen and vocalist Inna Barmash, whose performances integrated seamlessly into the electronic framework.[34] In the film, the score plays a crucial role in blurring diegetic and non-diegetic boundaries, particularly through motifs tied to the character John Burroughs, a composer whose in-story pieces enhance themes of loss and redemption.[35] Tracks such as "The First Time I Saw Jupiter" exemplify this integration, using subtle piano lines and swelling strings to evoke wonder at the duplicate Earth's appearance, while ambient electronics amplify Rhoda's internal turmoil without overpowering the dialogue-driven scenes.[36] Overall, the score's restrained approach amplifies the film's low-key aesthetic, fostering an immersive sense of emotional and existential ambiguity.[32]Soundtrack release
The soundtrack album for Another Earth, titled Another Earth (Music from the Motion Picture), was released on July 19, 2011, by Milan Records, three days prior to the film's limited theatrical release.[37][38] Composed by the Brooklyn-based collective Fall On Your Sword, the album comprises 19 instrumental tracks that form the film's original score, emphasizing atmospheric electronic and ambient elements to underscore themes of isolation and discovery.[32][39] Key tracks include "Rhoda's Theme," a haunting five-minute piece evoking the protagonist's introspection; "The First Time I Saw Jupiter," an opening motif blending synths and strings; and "The House Theme," which builds tension through minimalist percussion.[37][40] The full track listing is as follows:| Track No. | Title | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The First Time I Saw Jupiter | 2:54 |
| 2 | Bob the Robot | 1:12 |
| 3 | The Specialist: Am I Alone? | 4:52 |
| 4 | Naked on the Ice | 1:46 |
| 5 | Rhoda's Theme | 5:54 |
| 6 | The House Theme | 1:47 |
| 7 | The End of the World | 1:51 |
| 8 | The Specialist: We Bought a Zoo | 2:16 |
| 9 | In the Car | 1:45 |
| 10 | I Am Over There | 2:34 |
| 11 | Purdeep's Theme | 4:22 |
| 12 | The Cosmonaut | 2:01 |
| 13 | The Specialist: Look at Ourselves | 3:59 |
| 14 | Sonatina in D Minor (Phaedon Papadopoulos) | 2:16 |
| 15 | Night on Earth | 2:51 |
| 16 | The Art of Copying | 1:45 |
| 17 | Another Earth | 5:51 |
| 18 | The Specialist: Are We OK? | 3:52 |
| 19 | Jupiter and I | 2:47 |