Miss Media Junkie vs. Brit Marling

Brit Marling makes the kind of films that I'd like to think that I would make if I were a filmmaker - thoughtful, heady genre pieces that feel very personal. She is known primarily as an actress, but also co-wrote and co-produced 2011's "Another Earth" and 2012's "Sound of My Voice." Thus, she has become one of several young female filmmakers who have been making waves in independent film recently. I just finished "Sound of My Voice," and it confirmed for me that Marling is extremely talented, has a strong voice, and lots and lots of potential to do bigger and better things. The trouble is that I really dislike both of the films she's made.

In "Another Earth," Marling plays a young woman named Rhoda, who lives in a world where a parallel Earth that has mysteriously appeared in the sky, a perfect double of our own world down to the inhabitants. There is significant time devoted to discussing what this means for humanity, but the film is more interested in Rhoda, who caused a fatal car accident on the night of the discovery, and deals with her guilt by starting a very ill-considered relationship with the lone survivor of the crash. In "Sound of My Voice," she plays Maggie, a charismatic cult leader who claims to have traveled back in time from the future, and displays a frightening degree of influence and control over her followers. Both films are very low budget, but do a good job of selling their central concepts. There are some gorgeous visuals, particularly in "Another Earth," with its scenic views of the parallel Earth gleaming on the horizon.

However, both films have the same problem, which is that they're just not very well put together on a fundamental level. Marling's protagonists tend to be moody, intense, self-absorbed creatures who make irrational decisions based on the flimsiest pretexts. The genre elements, such as the parallel Earth in "Another Earth," and the time travel in "Sound of My Voice," function mainly as metaphor, as springboards to ask various existential questions that are never answered. The heroine considers the possibility of an alternate version of herself who did not experience profound tragedy in "Another Earth," while "Sound of My Voice" questions the value of belief and cynicism. Both stories have intentionally ambiguous endings that suggest many interpretations, but are unsatisfying because there's not enough time spent on really engaging with the major themes.

"Another Earth" comes off as the better piece because it has such a minimal story that relies heavily on mood and atmosphere. However, it still has little to say and doesn't offer much beyond some nice visuals and clammy catharsis. Rhoda has some interesting moments, but remains a fairly flat martyr figure, a construct instead of a genuine person dealing with her grief and guilt. "Sound of My Voice" has a more conventional narrative, and is far more problematic. One of the biggest flaws is that the two protagonists, documentary filmmakers Peter (Christopher Denham) and Lorna (Nicole Vicius), are completely underwritten and don't get nearly the amount of attention and development they need to make the film work. Instead, it's Marling's Maggie who stays in the spotlight, spinning her tale of a future dystopia that she refuses to provide any proof for.

It's apparent that Marling likes playing these deeply emotional, intense, damaged women who you're supposed to empathize with, and unfortunately they can get overly maudlin and bathetic real quick. I think Marling is a reasonably good actress, but the roles she creates for herself come across as a little ridiculous and indulgent. So much of the effectiveness of "Sound of My Voice" depends on buying how convincing and compelling Maggie is as this doomsaying prophet, and Marling just can't quite pull it off. I'm not sure that anyone could, considering how the character is written as a combination of ascetic monk, whimsical earth mother, and passive-aggressive psychopath. I did manage to catch Marling's supporting performance in the recent white-collar thriller "Arbitrage" with Richard Gere, where she comes off quite a bit better playing a normal, well-adjusted human being.

There is something intriguing about Marling's work, though, and I'm hopeful that she'll manage to improve over time and make some better films in the same vein. Science-fiction is one of my favorite genres, and I've been so happy to see these smaller, more conceptually ambitious indie sci-fi films popping up lately. However, "Another Earth" and "Sound of My Voice" also reveal some troubling bad habits, and that doesn't inspire much confidence. The big question is whether it's worth my time to keep following Marling's development as a filmmaker. I want to support her and to see her succeed, but at the same time, I think the movies she's made so far have been disappointing and I can't bring myself to recommend either of them.
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