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...

When a story keeps things moving and in a minimum use of sets and letting the actors and dialog take over..... top 10 for this guy!

This movie is way better than I expected. It is told in a very relaxed way, but also told very intelligently. In no way does this insult the viewer by making things seem really dumb and obvious, it will challenge the way you think about the world - even if it is only a movie. I would highly recommend this movie if you enjoy movies that make you think, and movies that make you want to learn more. Rather than a movie where the plot is spoon-fed to you and has lots of explosions.

I'm kind of surprised by the pretty high IMDB rating for this cos I can usually rely on IMDB for realistic ratings.Firstly, I am a massive Twilight Zone fan so I can appreciate this film as a bit of a homage to Rod Serling's magnificent creation, but it gets it wrong in so many ways. I liked that The Man from Earth was pretty much shot entirely in one room because I think that can be effective if the story is really strong, but unfortunately this story went a bit wrong.I actually liked the premise of the film - combined with the setting and sparse cast it definitely did have a Twilight Zone vibe but then it simply got too silly with all the daft historical name dropping. And the 'twist' at the end could of been played out so much better.But, on a positive note, the gallop through the last 14,000 years was pretty cool and I did like John's monologues about his life. I liked the low budget, no CGI, no action vibe. And I can't have hated it that much cos I do quite want to watch the sequel (which looks like its got loads of action sequences).