“The film’s script does amazing things with its stellar cast…”
As far as the cast goes, almost everyone turns in an excellent performance, specifically Tony Todd and David Lee Smith. I personally found the character of Harry a little grating at times, but John Billingsley never reaches the level of being obnoxious. I also feel like Richard Riehle’s character, Dr. Gruber, becomes a little goofy, as the film progresses. His story arc was definitely my least favorite part of the film, and his plot twist felt corny and unearned. I wish John’s relationship with Linda was a bit more fleshed out, I really liked Annika Peterson in the role, but I wish I could understand her attraction to John more. If what he says is true, their relationship will eventually hit some major snags, and if he’s just a nut, or worse, a con man, she’s in for a major heartbreak. If she truly loves John as much as she claims to love him, I wish these hypotheticals had been explored more. I also wish we could have been given a reason as to why John would tell his group his secret. It would have been beneficial if there were something deeper to their relationships, or perhaps show John at his downright loneliness longing for human connections that he’s been denying for several millennia at this point.
I really enjoyed this film, and I’m incredibly thankful for its ambiguity. It might offend some overtly religious people, but a lot of great science fiction does. This is a no frills story that is provocative and captivating in all the right ways. It’s great to see Tony Todd do some dramatic work, and he’s definitely a highlight in this film. My issues with The Man From Earth are very minor. I give it a high recommendation if you’re in the mood for something that’ll make you think. Have fun with it, question everything that’s presented, and come to your own conclusions, this film works best if you do.
The Man From Earth (2007) Directed by: Richard Schenkman. Written by: Jerome Bixby. Starring: David Lee Smith, Tony Todd, Ellen Crawford, John Billingsley, William Kat, Alexis Thorpe, Richard Riehle, Annika Peterson.
8 out of 10
I agree that Tony Todd *owned* this film. He was definitely my favorite part. From the extras, I understand that he was the first person to sign on and spent the most time developing his character before filming began. What amazed me is that David Lee Smith was the LAST person cast, due to someone else dropping out, but he nailed his role so well.
Listening to the commentaries on the DVD, some of the more subtle bits are explained, especially as regards Edith and Sandy. (I can go into those if you want, but they include spoilers, so I’m leaving them out of this post.) I agree that the Gruber story was a bit much and the plot twist at the end was completely unnecessary (or could have been done much more ambiguously, which would have helped the film a lot) but remember that Jerome Bixby was, among other things, a Star Trek writer with the “stinger” twist at the end followed by a brief closing bit to end a story being the standard for that show.
Is it a perfect film? No. There are a few plot holes and other bits that don’t work (Harry has a black belt!?), and being low budget and shot in 8 days really strained the crew’s ability to film it, but *as* a low-budget indie film, it’s among my favorites, alongside “The Way”, “The Wizard of Speed and Time” and a few others.