Tuesday, August 27, 2024
I Origins
- Commentary: This is not a typical "catch" movie (see descriptions of other of her movies below) of Brit Marling's. It hit me as a "trick" movie and left me a bit uncomfortable with the story. The elements were fine, but the design into which they were put was a little too mushy for me. Otherwise the production is top notch, as is Marling's usual. Her single job in this production was as an actor. The writer is one she's worked with before, but her own thoughtful magic was missing. Maybe that's what was wrong with this movie for me. It certainly scored well with other "members of the audience".
This movie generated three articles at RogerEbert.com. The first, linked in the title to this post, a "general review", is Brian Tallerico's. The second, also by Brian Tallerico, is an interview with Mike Cahill and Michael Pitt "dissecting" (word lifted from the title) the movie. The third, by Alan Zilberman, is a curious and very interesting meditation on the eye, Lenses and Reflections: "I Origins" and the history of the eye closeup, in film.
The eye is the subject of the movie. Why shouldn't it be the subject of an essay about the eye in film?
Update 6/2/2022: This post was originally published on 8/14/16 but disappeared from public view. I am now reinstating it.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Michael Pitt Ian Gray Brit Marling Karen Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey Sofi Elizondo Steven Yeun Kenny
Archie Panjabi Priya Varma Cara Seymour Dr. Jane Simmons Venida Evans Margaret Dairy William Mapother Darryl Mackenzie
The cast also includes Kashish Kumari as Salomina.
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 2014
Directed by Mike Cahill.
Labels: brit-marling, drama5, fantasy2, mystery1, romance1, science-fiction1