Shifting Earth

September 19, 2022
In this brisk futuristic drama from Castellucci (The Shade), botanist Maeve Lindholm, frantically trying to preserve the biosphere on a dying 2042 Earth, is stymied by government restrictions and skeptics. She’s pulled through a wormhole to a parallel world populated by alternate versions of people she knows—and finds herself pregnant. This more-sustainable world (“the green dream realized”) faces different but comparable problems: on the brink of mining coal for energy, the society practices animal and elder human sacrifice to reduce demands on the land and food resources. Maeve’s narrative is mirrored by that of the new world’s astronomer Zuzi Reed, who’s seeking to save her own planet. Their story lines gradually intertwine to form Maeve’s final chance to return home. A sharp script is bolstered by clean character design and action in art by Biondi (Ruby Falls) and a soft, effusive color palette by Fabiana Mascolo that subtly delineates the difference between Maeve’s world (burnt earth tones) and the new world (lush greens and blues). It’s a provocative fable for climate-threatened times.