I Origins is the second feature from Another Earth director Mike Cahill. This time, he wrote the film as well as directed it (whereas Another Earth was co-scripted by star Brit Marling). Marling appears in this film as well, and she and Michael Pitt play a couple of scientists (Ian and Karen) trying to disprove that the human eye was created by some intelligent designer (i.e., God). However, Ian's belief in science is thrown into question when he meets a mysterious woman named Sofi (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey), who introduces him to her spiritual beliefs. The film poses the question: What if science and religion weren't mutually exclusive?
Here's an excerpt from my review:
Here's an excerpt from my review:
4 out of 5. Ultimately, what Cahill achieves with I Origins is akin to what other directors, like Duncan Jones, with his film, Moon, have done: addressed a tantalizing what-if scenario — this time, surrounding the big-picture topic of the very nature of our existence — with introspective and personal storytelling. Consider it refreshing counter-programming to the Summer's usual crop of bombastic sci-fi blockbusters: a piece of filmmaking that isn't just wildly thought-provoking, but that's earnest and emotionally captivating as well.Cahill handles the film's central themes — evolutionism versus creationism and belief versus faith — with a deft touch, orchestrating I Origins' first two acts as a carefully-choreographed build-up to the film's big "a-ha" moment, so that when it finally arrives, it feels genuinely revelatory, not clichéd or contrived. Part of that certainly owes to the film's convincing depictions of scientific research, but the lion's share of the credit goes to the emotional resonance of the performances — especially Pitt's, as it's through his character's eyes that the story is told.
The other two principal actors, Marling and Bergès-Frisbey, shoulder their characters' fair share of the story's emotional weight quite capably as well, with Bergès-Frisbey portraying Sofi as a waifish, otherwordly type of creature — exotic but at the same time somewhat flighty — while Marling plays a character who's Sofi's counterpoint — someone who's just as grounded as Ian, but more emotionally attuned.
Sofi's preoccupation with the spiritual side of life has a good deal to do with what Ian finds alluring about her, but there's also a point in the film where he finds that quality of her's maddening, and it leads into the movie's most heart-wrenching moment. Karen, on the other hand, is there to pick up the pieces, but whereas the attraction between Ian and Sofi arises out of their differences, it's Karen and Ian's shared passion for science that draws them to one another. In the end, it's this trio of performances — a love triangle of sorts, echoing the ever-present push-and-pull between science and religion — that propels the movie forward and keeps it intriguing from start to finish.