"I ORIGINS" (From the Director of Another Earth)

[MikeScott]

'I Origins' Trailer - YouTube

Plot:

I ORIGINS, the second feature film from writer and director Mike Cahill, tells the story of Dr. Ian Gray (Michael Pitt), a molecular biologist studying the evolution of the eye. He finds his work permeating his life after a brief encounter with an exotic young woman (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey) who slips away from him. As his research continues years later with his lab partner Karen (Brit Marling), they make a stunning scientific discovery that has far reaching implications and complicates both his*scientific and spiritual beliefs. Traveling half way around the world, he risks everything he has ever known to validate his theory.


I am a huge fan of the filmmaker's last film, the 2011 gem “Another Earth.” I'm also a fan of that film's star, Brit Marling, who is also in this. Was highly impressed by the trailer. Looks to be another thought-provoking winner.


Opens July 18th.

[Jett Rink]

Very cool that 11:11 is being featured in a film. This looks really good, thank you for posting the video.

[MikeScott]

No problem. It's one of my 10 most-anticipated of the summer.

[jan_tran]

There's already a thread in existence here....which you even replied in.

[MikeScott]

Oh sh*t. I couldn't remember posting in one. I did a search and nothing came up.

[Holmes]

Mike Cahill, the writer and director of Another Earth, one of my favorite films of the decade so far, returns with another gem, I Origins. Both in his stories and his visuals, the auspicious Cahill specializes in imagining high concepts of enormous mystery and wonder and then revealing the impact on regular people's lives, loves, and routines. The result is an intoxicating blend of the cosmic and the intimate. Here, Michael Pitt portrays Ian, a molecular biologist and atheist with a particular interest in the eye and its evolutionary history. Set over the course of around eight years, the film focuses on various facets of his life, from his research to his intense relationship with two women (one, his lab partner, played by Brit Marling). It is hard to describe the film further without lapsing into spoilers, but the various tensions and themes introduced in the first half build to a potential scientific and spiritual revelation with profound implications.

I Origins' myriad fascinations include the controversial concept of an afterlife (an inevitable social byproduct of the fear of death) and the step-by-step scientific procedures which alter and refine our understanding of our bodies and physical world. The architecture of the storyline—the way the protagonist's romances and tragedies, as well as his professional triumphs and failures, are folded into a grander sense of conspiracy and discovery—is crisp and elegant at its core, yet the film's bohemian aesthetic and dreamy diversions lend it grit and unpredictability. The mystery and pathos never become schematic. Pitt, a gifted actor who has never entirely joined the A list despite several memorable film and television roles, proves an enticing lead: capable of transitioning from untidily nerdy enthusiasm to sensual brooding with grace, he sells both half of his character (the one in the lab, the one at parties and in the bedroom).

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