I Origins
| I Origins | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Mike Cahill |
| Written by | Mike Cahill |
| Produced by | Mike Cahill Hunter Gray Alex Orlovsky |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Markus Forderer |
| Edited by | Mike Cahill |
| Music by | Will Bates Phil Mossman Fall On Your Sword |
Production companies |
|
| Distributed by | Fox Searchlight Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 106 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $336,472[2] |
I Origins is a 2014 American science fiction drama film written, directed, and produced by Mike Cahill. The independent production premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014. It is distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures, and opened in limited release on July 18, 2014. It won the Best Feature Length Film Award at the Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya on October 11th, 2014.[3]
Plot
A graduate student, Ian Gray, meets an interesting woman, Sofi, at a Halloween party, and he photographs her eyes. They start to have sex in a washroom, but she abruptly leaves without providing her contact information. Gray is researching the evolution of human eyes with Karen and Kenny. Gray's goal is to discredit creationists by proving that eyes have evolved.
One day, Gray sees a number of elevens all at one time. He gets on bus number 11, but gets off when a guide-dog starts barking at him. He sees a billboard cosmetics ad featuring Sofi's unmistakable eyes, and uses it to track her down. Despite their different belief systems, Gray's and Sofi's relationship develops and they eventually plan to marry. On their would-be wedding day, Karen calls Gray, informing him of a species of worm that is blind, but has the DNA required to develop an eye. This is the breakthrough they have been searching for.
Sofi is upset, and suggests that humans are like the blind worm. Just because they cannot see light doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Just because humans can't see God doesn't mean that God doesn't exist. Gray argues with her and grows impatient with her views. This creates a tension of energy between them and immediately changes their spiritual balance with each other. While this is happening they are on a broken elevator and due to this shift of negative power - a freak accident happens and Sofi is killed as an effect of it. Gray blames himself and never forgets his last words to Sofi - calling her a child because of her belief system. Gray is distraught and his lab partner, Karen takes over much of his research. One evening, while Gray was still in mourning, Karen brings him a meal at his home. He breaks down, and she comforts him, which lead to a more intimate situation.
Seven years later, Gray has written a book slamming the creationists and their belief that eyes haven't evolved. Karen is pregnant with their first child. When the child is born, the hospital takes an iris scan of the baby. When it is entered into the database, they appear to match with another persons eyes. Initially the thought of this is tossed off as a glitch with the new system.
A few months later, a Dr. Simmons calls and suggests they test the baby for autism. The doctor suggested running test on their child and because of the unusual test studies - Gray and Karen determine that they should do additional research on this scientist. This leads Gray to travel to Idaho and ends up finding that the person whose eyes matched their baby's - had died two years earlier—just before their baby was conceived, suggesting that their son may be some sort of reincarnation of the deceased man.
Gray's former research partner, Kenny, is the creator of the iris database. He helps Gray and Karen run some iris photos of deceased people through the database to see if there are any recent matches. Sofi's eyes match those of a young girl in India.
Gray travels to India to find her. He meets a preacher in his hotel elevator, but snubs his friendly approach. He finds the facility that did the scan, but learns from Priya that the girl is an orphan and will be hard to find. To aid his search, he places an ad on a billboard with a picture of Sofi's eyes and the offer of a reward to the person if they call. He later finds a little girl staring at the billboard, and her irises match Sofi's. He takes the girl, Salomina, back to his hotel and contacts Karen over Skype. With her help, he conducts a simple test on Salomina, hoping that she will select the images associated with Sofi. Although she correctly picks some images specific to Sofi, the results are inconclusive, falling within the "random" range, and he admits to Karen that he feels foolish. But when he prepares to leave the hotel with Salomina, she panics and cries at the sight of the elevator, and Gray seems to accept the idea that she may be connected to Sofi in ways that can't yet be proven through science.
A post-credits scene shows Dr. Simmons continuing her tests and scanning the irises of deceased famous figures such as Adolf Hitler and John F. Kennedy, Jr. for matches—with some success.
Cast
- Michael Pitt as Ian Gray
- Brit Marling as Karen
- Astrid Berges-Frisbey as Sofi
- Steven Yeun as Kenny
- Archie Panjabi as Priya Varma
- William Mapother as Darryl
- Cara Seymour as Dr. Jane Simmons
Production
This is the second feature film by writer/director Mike Cahill after an earlier independent science fiction-drama, Another Earth (2011), also with Brit Marling.
The production companies were Verisimilitude and WeWork Studios in association with Bersin Pictures and Penny Jane Films.
Release
I Origins premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014. After its premiere, Fox Searchlight Pictures bought rights to worldwide distribution of the film.[4] The film won the festival's Alfred P. Sloan Prize, which recognizes films that depict science and technology. The win was Cahill's second; his film Another Earth also won the prize in 2011.[5] I Origins also screened at the Brooklyn-based BAMcinemaFest and at the Nantucket Film Festival, both in late June 2014.[6][7]
I Origins began its limited theatrical release on July 18, 2014 in just four theaters.[8] The following week, it expanded to 76 theaters.[9]
Reception
I Origins received mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a rating of 50%, based on 74 reviews. The site's consensus states: "Writer-director Mike Cahill remains an intriguingly ambitious talent, but with the uneven sci-fi drama I Origins, his reach exceeds his grasp".[10] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 57 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[11]
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References
- ^ "I ORIGINS (15)". 20th Century Fox. British Board of Film Classification. August 15, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ "I Origins (2014)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ^ http://sitgesfilmfestival.com/eng/noticies/?id=1003257
- ^ Stewart, Andrew (January 20, 2014). "Sundance: Fox Searchlight Acquiring Mike Cahill's Sci-fi Mystery 'I Origins'". Variety.
- ^ Stewart, Andrew (January 21, 2014). "Sundance: Mike Cahill Awarded Alfred P. Sloan Prize for 'I Origins'". Variety. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
- ^ O'Falt, Chris (May 6, 2014). "How Brooklyn's BAMcinemaFest Became an Important Stop on the Festival Circuit". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
- ^ Lindsay, Taylor (April 22, 2014). "Nantucket Film Festival Announces Lineup, Including 'Skeleton Twins,' 'I Origins,' and Richard Linklater's 'Boyhood'". Indiewire. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
- ^ Cook, Cameron (April 10, 2014). "Exclusive: See the trailer for I Origins on Apple.com". foxsearchlight.com. Fox Searchlight Pictures. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
- ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/counts/chart/?yr=2014&wk=30&p=.htm
- ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_origins/
- ^ "I Origins Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 18, 2014.