The Man from Earth (2007)

There are some films with premises that make me go "How the hell did they come up with something like this!"! That is in a very positive sense of course...I am talking about concepts that are so refreshingly unique that they are certain to make you sit up and take notice the moment you even read one line of the plot summary. Written by Jerome Bixby (his last screenplay) and directed by Richard Schenkman, the 2007 film "The Man from Earth" is one such film. The 'Science Fiction' tag is not entirely appropriate for this film, however...it is more of 'theology fused with science' kind of a story. John Oldman (David Lee Smith) is a teacher in a school and is now quitting his job and moving elsewhere. Just as he is packing up and putting his stuff in a truck, some of his colleagues show up to treat him to a surprise farewell party. John is reluctant to reveal any details as to where he is moving to and more specifically "Why". Upon being coaxed by his colleagues he reluctantly makes a startling revelation that he is in fact a "prehistoric caveman" from the Upper Paleolithic who has survived for more than several thousand years! He has to keep moving after a span of a few years at a single place, because some people soon start observing the fact that he never ages! Obviously dumbfounded, the colleagues just laugh his story off and don't believe him. But just to humour him, they start asking him questions which he promptly answers....these harmless questions soon turn into very serious conversation in which John presents some extremely convincing arguments to support his claim! But of course, it is only human, cynical or not, to rubbish such an unbelievably tall story! The group discussion soon turns somewhat sour when religion creeps in and John's colleagues don't think it is funny anymore.......So is John really what he says he is? Or is he some delusional man living in his fantasy world and in serious need of medical attention?? We keep asking ourselves this question throughout the crisp 80 minutes-something length of the film. "The Man from Earth" was made on a shoestring budget of $200,000, so expect some low-budget characteristics, and not your conventional special effects ridden sci-fi film! As a matter of fact, the entire movie almost takes place in the living room of John's house and is solely comprised of the dialog between the characters. There are no other locations, no flashback scenes, almost no place for a scene that looks anything different from a simple conversation between characters! But then that is one of the strongest features of this film. The arguments and counter-arguments are the only means of plot progression and that has in fact been pulled off quite commendably! While not all the characters are all that interesting, they include learned people from almost all areas, including a biologist, a professor (who also happens to be a devout Christian), a psychologist, an archaeologist, and a historian, thus paving the way for arguments from various departments! The discussion is enlightening as well as thought-provoking on many levels. Of course, you have to keep paying attention as things do tend to get quite verbose over time. And indeed, this is more of an aural experience rather than a visual one. The acting isn't all that good except for a couple of decent performances. The actors are mostly unknown, apart from perhaps Tony Todd (decent), Richard Riehle (pretty good) and John Billingsley (extremely annoying!). Richard Schenkman, a relatively unknown name in directing (credited for directing some Playboy videos and mediocre films earlier) does a pretty good job of directing a film with a subject like this which can turn into a tedious affair if not deftly handled. "The Man from Earth" does suffer from some technical glitches, though. Like in one scene, the background score builds to a crescendo so loud, it almost drowns out the dialog! There are a few minor hiccups like this here and there, but none that can overshadow the overall intelligent content of the story. If a blended malt of theology, philosophy and science is something that interests you, then look no further!