Sarita Rafferty
There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
James
There are several points in Richard Schenkman's "The Man from Earth" in which differently-motivated watchers may feel inclined to reach for the "off" switch. The first time will be about 10-15 minutes in, and the motivation will relate either to the basic sci fi premise (no spoilers, but it's bound to be an instant turnoff for some), or to a query from many a typical filmgoer as to how interesting 5 or 6 University types questioning their close, about-to-leave, colleague John Oldman (David Lee Smith) in a remote cottage somewhere can really get! On the latter score the makers do as much as they can, as the "solid front" of clone-like colleagues rapidly disperses into displays from each of different emotions, different attitudes. Aggression, disbelief, mockery, cynicism, acceptance are all released, but above them all is the spirit of eager scientific inquiry and open-mindedness that OUGHT TO BE present in every academic. We of science do our jobs by hypothesis-testing and taking nothing for granted, nothing at face value. And here a cerebral script allows the most to be made of that desirable truth about academics.Nevertheless, Ellen Crawford serves increasingly well as the uptight religious one (notwithstanding her academic side), while John Billingsley is there in his typical kindly+witty avuncular role. Then there is the coolly sarcastic hip one and his beautiful young girlfriend/student who represents the openness of youth, and then there is that ever-welcome player Tony Todd as the kindly, accepting, philsophical one. That leaves Richard Riehle as the psychiatrist who wants to help - but is also ultimately the most aggressive responder to the situation.Together, this crew throw themselves at John from as many different angles as you can easily think of - not only scientific; and as the time passes this interaction gets richer and richer. Furthermore, it's not all between each individually and John, but also via a web of connections across the group, which makes things interesting. A few other plot twists creep in to further diversify the format.The Ellen Crawford character wants to "switch off" at one key point, and there are many in the audience who will likely find themselves tempted to do likewise. I surprised myself by being in this group, thinking a step too far had been taken. But I plucked up the courage to come back to it, and don't regret it, as the film's best work is done after this point, and some worthwhile (if definitely somewhat uncomfortable) questions about religion are raised, in a very clever way.Indeed, the film starts off looking stilted and rather faux-intellectual but definitely ends up looking like the real thing. Did the actors get into what they were doing? Or is it an adjustment from the audience? Either way, it's fascinating how it happens. Wherever you look in this film you will see the name Bixby, mostly - though not solely - Jerome Bixby. He's behind a shockingly unforgettable piece of sci fi from 1953 called "It's a Good Life", which sets an ENTIRELY different tone from "The Man from Earth". On the other hand, the idea used here got its first outing when Bixby wrote the "Requiem for Methusaleh" episode of the original "Star Trek", so anybody who's a fan of "ST:TOS" will recognise elements of this.And sweetly, ST is referred to in the film, several of whose actors have also appeared in different manifestations of "Trek", so that's a pleasing side-effect for those in the know.Main message: this is ultimately a far better quality film than you can imagine at the outset, so do stick with it...
jasperan
In my opinion, the idea of the film is great, immortality is always a good idea for any plot in any movie. However, I think the film was too static and the conversation was always about the same topic, which made it interesting for the first 40-50 minutes of the film. The rest was just dragging it, IMO. PS: Edith is so annoying.
sasata-29793
First time trying to review a film on IMDb, simply because I found it one of the instances when the rating is quite off. The film begins with an interesting idea: what if a man was 14000 years old? But then it never evolves an inch beyond that point. The philosophical discussions drag on without depth, repeat well known ideas without offering any new perspective, never scratch beyond the surface of what the premise proposes.
In the end (spoiler alert), he conveniently becomes Jesus and repeats some tired liberal soft religious ideas. All of the characters remain without depth, which is quite an achievement when one has a 14000 year old in their middle.
Final plot twist and reactions are just as unconvincing. To summarize my opinion and to reiterate: interesting idea that falls flat by not doing anything worthwhile with it.
khrystynakernytska7
Together with my girlfriend I have watched this movie. A very compelling story that is logically correct, I couldn't spot any obvious reasoning mistakes.A braintwister for those who enjoy an intellectual debate. This movie shows that you don't need Hollywood blockbuster money to make an interesting film.Absolutely worth watching.
