MovieChat Forums > The Man from Earth (2007) Discussion > To prove he was the real deal...

To prove he was the real deal...

posted 10 years ago by kenoh89
22 replies | jump to latest

All he had to do was give a simple DNA paternity test to see if he was actually the father of the psychologist. There's no way he could look 40 and still be a father to a man clearly much older then him!

Also, Someone could have snuck hair samples without him knowing? There's also many samples they could have gotten from the restroom or left over food! Even a finger print would have been enough! Once they had that, they would be able to track him for years to see if he actually ages!

This is supposed to be a movie with realistic idea's, so why didn't anyone try it? In real life, surely that would have played out?

I personally think, he's a man running away from his responsibilities, who owes a substantial amount in child support! He must have a lot of children from different women he's not up to committing! Just my 2cents...

[–] mail-53-1337 10 years ago

he said he didn't want to prove it to them. I completely understand where he is coming from. He doesn't want to become a subject of study. This was addressed in the movie.

[–] creatorof2002 10 years ago

If he really was 40 (meaning he looked 40 and the actor portraying him was 40) that means he is NOT immortal, not completely ageless. A person who is truly immortal would look no older than early 20s. Maybe he is aging at a hyper slow rate? Maybe he ages a month every century or something? It could mean that he will be geriatric in 20,000 years and dead in 25,000.

Maybe immortality in the absolute sense is impossible like the speed of light and other universal absolutes so beings that seem immortal are just aging at a VERY slow rate...

[–] MrBlondee 10 years ago

If he didn't age at all in your way of thinking he would be a baby. Or when he became sexually mature. Maybe he stopped ageing at 40 because he was physically and mentally at his peak?

[–] treborbasset 10 years ago

Maybe he stopped ageing at 40 because he was physically and mentally at his peak?

Except that we know that human males are at their peak around the age of 21. You slowly deteriorate after that.

Also in the movie didn't they say he was meant to be 30, not 40? Or rather, he was probably 30 when he arrived, but ten years later he looked the same.

[–] creatorof2002 10 years ago

It would suck having to change your name and identity every ten years, he probably had to fake a lot of records to get a job as a professor.

In today's world I would (if I was immortal or almost immortal aging very slowly) buy myself time so that I could change my identity every 20 or even 25 years.

What I would do is make a big show out of being a health nut. I would brag about being a vegan and drinking lots of veggie juice including wheatgrass and I would make a big show out of being athletic and brag about how hard I work out and how healthy my lifestyle is.

Then after a certain number of years I would stop shaving my face so that a big beard and mustache could hide the youthful look of my face. After several years of that I would have a "schedule" set up where I gradually add more grey dye to my beard and head hair. After gradually adding grey for a certain number of years I would be forced to move because my health would be too good and arouse suspicion.

But that strategy could add a good decade or fifteen years before having to "disappear" and make a new identity.

[–] Korios 10 years ago

At most you could drag it up to 15 years, any more than that and you would find yourself climbing over rolling wheels while having been planted electrodes in just about every inch of your body, along with deep cerebral probes. And that just for starters, to go easy on you while being prepared for the dissection.

Fanboy : a person who does not think while watching.

[–] thulk01 9 years ago

I disagree. If one of your neighbors looked the same today as he did 15 years ago, would you immediately think "well, he must be immortal, let's report him to the government!" Of course not. You probably wouldn't even notice to be honest. Even if you did notice, you'd chalk it up to "good diet" or "botox" or some other rationalization. Even if you were extremely open-minded and entertained the possibility that he was immortal (which I would assume less than 1% of the population would even consider) you'd ask him, he'd deny it, and that would be that. You'd never really know, and then after awhile you'd forget about it.

[–] MatttheBruinsfan 8 years ago

This. My mom's side of my family is very long-lived, often lasting until their 90s in pretty good health until close to the end. Mom herself could easily be mistaken for late 50s/early 60s rather than her actual age of late 70s. Friends who've known her for decades don't suspect anything supernatural, they just think (correctly) that she lucked into good genes and takes care of herself.

Likewise, I've had people in healthcare guess that I'm 10 years younger than my actual age (I credit staying out of the sun and getting fat as a good way to minimize wrinkles). When corrected, they don't react with disbelief and call goons in to capture me and run tests.

[–] bad-intentions 10 years ago

I thought the peak is at 25, not 21, and after 33 deterioration rate significantly increases?

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] Korios 10 years ago

There is no rule that immortals grow up to their 20s and then stop getting older, you are just speculating. Why not 25, 30 or 35?

Fanboy : a person who does not think while watching.

[–] gotmyorangecrush 9 years ago

Exactly! Not to mention, this entire film basically takes place in real time, over the course of a single evening. DNA samples, blood samples, or any other method that someone might have wanted to use to prove or disprove what John was saying would have gone well outside the scope of the film, as the filmmakers intended it. This whole film basically takes place in johns living room. Adding in any of these elements would have taken that simple aspect of the film away.

And really that is besides the point becasue as you already stated, john specifically said he didn't want to prove it and didn't want to be the subject of experimentation. He didn't want it scientifically proven as that would have put him and his safety at risk. After 14,000 years of running away and not telling anyone the truth, he got weak and decided to see what would happen if he were honest. Your telling me you wouldn't be tempted to do this as well, at least once, just to see how it played out?

Still Shooting With Film!

[–] iwantyourjob 10 years ago

This is potentially the dumbest possible response to this movie. "He can't look 40, and be father to a man that looks much older than him!". You might as well said, "He can't look 40 years old, and be 14,000 years old!". He even says in the movie he quit aging at 35. Then how the *beep* does he know the psychiatrist mother, and childhood dog? This is a story, and the author made it clear that in his story John Oldman was telling the truth. End of discussion.

[–] donitononaire 10 years ago

So he was telling the truth when he told them at the end, "they gave hm the idea for a story, and he ran with it"?

[–] WhoToTrust 10 years ago

by donitononaire » So he was telling the truth when he told them at the end, "they gave hm the idea for a story, and he ran with it"?

No. At that point he'd determined that they couldn't handle the truth so he simply told them what they wanted to believe.

[–] gotmyorangecrush 9 years ago

No, he was lying at that point as he had realized at that point that many of the people in the room could not handle the truth, so he backtracked and made it seem like it was all made up, but it wasn't. That was verified at the end of the film when the one charcter that had the heart attack remembered john from way back when he was a young boy. John even remembered the name of thier dog "Wolfie".

So again, that whole part about it being a story and being made up was simply John backtracking after figuring out that many people in the group were just not capable of accepting the truth.

Still Shooting With Film!

[–] Ms_Belladonna 10 years ago

All a DNA test would prove is that they share 50% of their DNA.

The logical conclusion to reach would be that Will was John's father.

His friends didn't want proof, they prefered to beleive the lie that it was a joke.

Lots of planets have a Scotland...

[–] Tjanssen411 10 years ago

the reveal about his Son only came to Both men after the party had dispersed...

only John, Gruber, and Sandy were still there... the son was Dead so who exactly was he supposed to submit his DNA to for testing... Sandy clearly wanted to collect it for another purpose as she was already willing to be his 'companion' for the next decade without Proof.

-- and since they established he does his best to make clean Breaks; he's no doubt closing or transferring his accounts to 'heirs' rather than to his next Identity

[–] Zach0555 9 years ago

He could also have his blood tested for antibodies, since he would have antibodies to every disease he ever had, such as the Bubonic Plague.

[–] gotmyorangecrush 9 years ago

Sure he could, if he wanted too, but he didn't. This was made VERY clear in the film. John had absolutely no desire whatsoever to scienfitically prove to everyone what he was saying was true. In fact, he stated the exact opposite becasue doing so would put his life at risk.

Still Shooting With Film!

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] 9 years ago

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