I was very much looking forward to ‘Annihilation’ as Writer/Director Alex Garland created one of my favorite under-rated films, ‘Ex-Machina’, only a few short years ago. I find him gifted in both his skills as a writer and his ability to bring that vision to film. ‘Annihilation’ is a difficult film for me to review as it intentionally tries to be many things, but ultimately it left me unsatisfied and feeling the vision was incomplete or maybe unresolved is a better word. That is not to say that there isn’t much I respect about this film both visually and in its’ complex story telling style. In fact, just the opposite, despite my lack of fulfillment, this film is an extraordinary work of art. It just didn’t resonate with me. I’m not one who feels every film must have a neatly wrapped ending or even a coherent story line that is fully understandable, but I do need purpose or even direction. I felt ‘Annihilation’ lacked both of these. I found it interesting that I could be both in awe of the beauty of the film, yet apprehensive and even cringe at its’ violent and disturbing imagery.
This is a female centric film and much to the film’s credit it does not make a big deal out of it. Lena (Natalie Portman) is a biologist who is still suffering from the loss of her special forces husband Kane (Oscar Isaacs) who disappeared on a mission over a year prior. As she attempts to rebuild her life, Kane mysteriously shows up disoriented in their bedroom. At first over-joyed, Lena soon begins to realize that something is terribly wrong with him. Just as she realizes that he is physically, in fact critically unwell, a swarm of government officials abduct them on the way to the hospital. When she wakes up in a government facility, she is introduced to Dr. Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh) who sheds light on the mission in which Kane and his team disappeared.
A mysterious extra-terrestrial object fell to earth in south Florida and hit a light house creating a “singularity”. A growing “shimmering” zone surrounding the area sprang up and for the last several years, every one or team sent in never returned. The growth is slow but steady and the government does not know for how much longer they can keep it a secret. Lena is grilled for information on what if anything explains her husbands mysterious return, but she knows as little as the government. In fact, even less. Dr Ventress explains the plan to send in a team of scientists this time as each time they sent in soldiers they never returned. They are desperate and willing to try anything different. As Lena realizes this is possibly an ‘end-of-the-world’ scenario, she volunteers her expertise to be part of the group. The approach and entering into the shimmering zone is what keeps the viewer on edge.
Director Garland’s exploration of the shimmering zone is filled with dread for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that we don’t know what to expect. Right away one realizes the laws of reality don’t apply here. While filled with dread, one cannot help but to be simultaneously filled with wonder at the beauteous altered world inside the zone. Metamorphosis of both landscape and animals are almost fairy tale in nature, but one cannot help but be filled with apprehension as we remember no one has ever returned. It’s here where I feel Garland cheapens the film by relying on the typical horror film tropes with monsters and “gotcha’ moments, but I suppose its’ necessary to maintain the level of fear in the magical land.
What I feel Garland gets right is the exploration of the individual women on the team. All are damaged (most people volunteering for a suicide mission would be) and each has their own individual reasons for being there. As they come to realize that they are starting to metamorpihize both physically and mentally, just like the zone, we learn more about each, even as they begin to be picked off one by one. We also begin to learn the relationship between Lena and her husband isn’t necessarily what we thought and her reasons for volunteering weren’t as clear cut as it originally appeared. For me, these explorations that were outside the premise of the film were what I found most skillfully executed.
I’m not going to go into the third act as, not only do I not want to give away any spoilers, I felt the film led to a resolution both anti-climatic and un focused where there aren’t any true spoilers to give. Like I said earlier, I don’t need everything wrapped up in a neat bow, but I do need some sort of coherence to latch onto and I felt this film relied more on cool imagery and vaguery to come to a conclusion. To my great regret, I cannot recommend this film. Which is a shame because it contains a lot of beauty and visceral imagery. In the end, it feels like a road that leads to no where and I lacked any sort of meaningful connection with it.
I give this film ** stars out of five.
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