Another Earth

Impressions before seeing it
It was a cool concept, if not necessarily a plausible one. Who wouldn't be curious about a duplicate Earth?

How was it?
A universe where two Earths co-exist was more like the setting of the movie than its concept. It's not entirely about the two Earths; that's just something that's there. Thematically, it's about atonement and redemption. Rhoda (Britt Marling), staring up at the newly discovered second Earth in the sky while driving, crashes into another car, putting the driver into a coma and killing his family. It was less an evil mistake than a stupid one, but she goes to prison for it and spirals into a depression. Upon release 4 years later, she runs into the survivor and spends the rest of the movie working for him in penance without his knowing who she is.

So as you can see, it's not a space exploration movie, which is disappointing at first but acceptable in hindsight. Not a single frame of the movie takes place on the second Earth, but we really don't need to go there because we're told it's an exact duplicate of ours in every way, so there would be no point. If you're then asking, "Then what's the point of putting that concept in the movie?", it ties into the main storyline at the end.

There are a couple of really powerful scenes here - especially the one where the doctor on TV is making contact with Earth 2 for the first time - that make Another Earth worth watching. It probably would have been forgettable if you took out the second Earth and left it as a mere redemption story, but they merged the two well and the writing kept it interesting. It more or less only has two characters, but I felt like I really understood them both. I saw the ending coming, but rather than disappoint me I was just glad that it made sense. Although it does end at one of the movie's best moments, leaving you wanting more.

Recommendation
While watching this, I thought that it would make an intriguing companion piece to Melancholia if you watch both and pretend they each take place on one of the planets. Their endings are rather different, but they contain some similar elements. Both should be seen in any case, but back to back would be kind of cool.