Quentin Hudspeth's Journal

I haven’t posted a movie review in a while, though I’ve continued to enjoy a steady flow of Netflix discs. Last night I watched The Man from Earth, from a script by Jerome Bixby. I was pleasantly surprised by the movie, which is a low-budget indie production shot over 13 days in the California desert, in a  little cabin with no utilities. The movie is shot in near real-time and follows several friends and colleagues from a nearby (un-named) college or university at a going away party for one of the group, John Oldman, who is leaving the college after 10 years in his position. Sensing Oldman’s unease, his friends push him to reveal what is bothering him — he’s leaving because he doesn’t age, and has been hanging around the world for about 14,000 years, hopping from place to place. The rest of the movie deals with the fallout of that revelation among Oldman’s academic pals. It’s a bit of a talky film, with a good 95% shot in the living room of Oldman’s cabin. Yet, I never felt that the dialogue dragged. The discussion, tone, and character dynamics were familiar to me, as it probably will be to anyone who has spent any time in a casual setting with their professors or academic colleagues and a little alcohol.

Overall, I give this one 4.5 stars, with a slight detraction for image quality near the end. After sunset, the image became grainy due to shooting in low-light conditions. However, that was almost made up for by the beauty and intimacy of shooting close-ups by firelight. The warm luminance made everyone look good and definitely added to the philosophical ambience. And, if you have time, I recommend listening to the commentary track of director Schenkman and actor Billingsley (funny man). There’s not much to speak of in other DVD extras, but there is where I got the tidbit about shooting time.

Q