Not too long ago, I discovered a gem of
an independent science fiction film called ANOTHER EARTH (2011),
written and directed by Mike Cahill; produced and co-written by the film’s
lead, Brit Marling. See my review here. When a new work by Cahill was released, I
ORIGINS (2014), it immediately went on my radar to watch and
review. Finally, here it is.
Does I ORIGINS live
up to its predecessor? No, not really. It’s an interesting little film, just
not nearly as gripping in plot and characters as ANOTHER EARTH.
In fact, as I explain below, it is a movie with profound, but largely
unexplored, potential.
Michael Pitt (SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS,
2012) plays Ian Gray, a graduate student researching the evolutionary
development of the eye. Every animal’s (including human’s) eye pattern is
unique within a billion-to-one ratio (something like that, I never wrote down
the specific number), much more than fingerprints. Ian is obsessed with eyes,
taking pictures of them whenever he can. It’s a hobby and clinical obsession
with which he slowly builds a database of unique eye patterns.
Some say the eye is the window to the
soul. Ian doesn’t believe in a soul, and hopes his research will prove him
right. His subjects range from mice to blind, single cell organisms, used to
uncover the evolution of this starkly unique physical trait. More than
scientific curiosity, Ian wants to disprove the idea of an intelligent
designer. There is no God, or higher intelligence controlling the universe.
Everything happens by chance, every trait and physical characteristic a random
turn in evolution.
Why he feels the need to disprove
anything is never said, not specifically, except that as random as it can be
(genetically-speaking), life should always be viewed rationally. And to him,
the concept of an outside intelligence guiding events around us is as far from
rational as one can get.
Pitt plays the role with a sullen,
brooding manner which fits the character. Ian is a socially reclusive (for the
most part), opinionated, and highly intelligent scientist with a strong sense
of what is the right way to see the world. He has little patience for anyone
who thinks differently. Pitt does well with the character, and has a decent
presence on the screen, but Ian is not a very likeable—or relatable—person, so
we never have much of a connection to him as a viewer.
After meeting, then losing, a woman he
makes a strong connection at a party, Ian finds her again weeks later when a
seemingly deliberate series of events around the number “11” lead him to her.
Sofi (played by Astrid Berges-Frisbey—PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN: ON
STRANGER TIDES, 2011) is his polar opposite: physically, emotionally
and spiritually. She moves through life nurturing a strong spiritual sense of
everything around her. They were destined to be together, she explains,
implying they may have been together in previous lifetimes. Ian rebukes this
idea. In fact, any time the subject of a supernatural influence arises in
conversation, he gets defensive, even condescending in his reply. Still, she
patiently explains that his moment will come when he is face-to-face with
something bigger than him, on a spiritual level, and Ian will need to decide
whether (or not) to accept it.
Berges-Frisbey portrays the best
character in this film, full of life and comfortable in her own skin. She adds
much-needed light to the otherwise routine existences of the other characters.
A third significant character, who is quite opposite of Sophie, and so much
more like Ian, is Ian’s lab assistant Karen, played by Brit Marling (who, as
I’ve mentioned, was the lead in ANOTHER EARTH). Along with
being able to keep up with—and sometimes exceed—Ian’s brilliant mind, Karen is
very much attracted to him.
When Sofi dies in a rather clever, and
coolly grotesque, manner midway through the film, I ORIGINS gets
a much needed boost of, well, something interesting. Until
this point, the only scenes which felt to be moving the plot along at a decent
rate were whenever Sofi was on-screen. Her death adds a bump to everything that
came before, giving the viewer a chance to be shocked and think, Oh,
ok, here we go, things will happen now. In this scene, Pitt shines as
Ian, who holds his new wife’s bloody body in his arms.
When the story cuts ahead seven years,
Ian and Karen have married and have a new baby. His research is complete and
has made them both famous—at least in some circles. He’s also infamous as
a scientist using his work to disprove God.
Here, more than anywhere else, I
ORIGINS had a choice in what direction to take, and chose wrong.
I won’t rehash any more plot except to say that a call from a doctor about some
tests on their new child sets Ian and Karen on a journey to discover if perhaps
the idea of eyes being windows to souls has some merit. Ian starts this
journey wanting to believe, for personal reasons,
while at the same time keeping himself as far away from the precipice of life
re-evaluation as possible. Until, at one point, he is pushed (metaphorically
speaking) over the edge.
The second half of the film is more
interesting, with varied locations and storylines. This, from the introduction
of some strong (and potentially strong) new characters. Especially Archie
Panjabi’s (THE GOOD WIFE TV Series and BEND IT
LIKE BECKHAM, 2002) Priya Varma, whom Ian encounters in India while
trying to locate someone with a specific eye pattern. (I did mention
I’ve stopped rehashing the plot, so just work with me here). Panjabi is always
a strong presence in whatever she does. Here is no exception, even if she
doesn’t have much to say in the way of deep dialogue.
On a lesser scale, Steven Yeun (Glenn
from the TV series THE WALKING DEAD) has a minor role in
the first half of the movie as Ian’s oft-drunk roommate, and less-efficient lab
partner. I was excited to see Yeun in a role other than Glenn the zombie
fighter, but his Kenny simply appears when a background character needs to be a
sounding board for someone else. He doesn’t do much else.
Yeun, however, is not who I was
referring to earlier when I mentioned the introduction of a “potentially
strong” character.
William Mapother (the LOST TV
series, as well as ANOTHER EARTH) introduces us to Darryl
McKenzie late in the film, in a single scene. McKenzie is on business in India
and staying at Ian’s hotel. He is also a preacher. This single scene brings
with it such a quiet menace, I assumed Darryl would be back as a major foil to
Ian’s New-Aged quest. He wasn’t. In fact, aside from standing in the distance
at an elevator, forcing Ian to take the stairs in a key scene, the preacher man
has no point in the film (aside from, perhaps, paying Mapother’s rent that
month). This is too bad. As a character actor, William Mapother is awesome. He
eats up the screen in his unique way wherever he appears, and could have
injected this film with much-needed antagonism.
Herein lies the rub, if I may misquote
the Bard. I’m one of those readers (and viewers) who sometimes wishes
there was no bad guy, just people struggling and working through life without
having to deal with an antagonist at every turn. But for a story meant to be
entertaining, it needs something. The only battle Ian has
throughout the film is with, well, Ian. It’s a Man versus Himself
narrative struggle, but I don’t think it’s enough. This might work in a quiet,
romantic film about two elderly residents struggling with a decision to sell
their Brooklyn apartment, but not in a plot where a scientist is trying to discover
the meaning of life.
I ORIGINS needed
more story than one man’s struggle to overcome his own viewpoint and admit that
the universe might be more than the randomness of
genetics. Though the ending does satisfy, in that Ian comes to a decision on
that metaphorical precipice, to me the story is only just beginning. Much of
this film could be condensed into a few scenes, to make room for Mapother’s
preacher—was he there to kill Ian, or spy on him in order to preserve his own stubborn
faith? When Ian leaves his hotel room just before the credits roll, what will
his life be like? In the early moments of the film, Ian finds his lover Sofi
initially through a series of coincidences and intuition, all centering around
the number 11. Why 11, and what was causing this?
There was an
extra scene after the credits rolled, which only exacerbates my problem with
this movie—without giving things away, it opens up a whole new potential story,
highlighting what could have been done before the
credits.
Maybe I ORIGINS was
intended as an introduction to a larger film series. Obviously there are budget
and time restrictions, but if there is no forthcoming series of films, so many
“what ifs” will never be answered. Of course, if a series does show itself, it
runs the risk that the individual parts (films) of the whole are too thin.
As much as I hoped for more based on my
enjoyment of his previous film, Cahill’s I ORIGINS stabbed
me with only 2 knives. Even so, I’ll definitely check out
his next. Who knows, maybe someday a director’s cut will be released with more
Mapother and Yeun.