If you’re into sci-fi thrillers with brains, look no further than director Alex Garland’s ‘Annihilation.’ In 2015, he delivered the artificial intelligence drama ‘Ex Machina’ with the then unknown actress Alicia Vikander playing a sexy robot. He now returns with the mind-bending adventure ‘Annihilation’ with Natalie Portman leading a mostly female cast. It’s the terrific acting and surreal journey that will satisfy intelligent moviegoers while leaving the mainstream audience scratching their heads for answers. “What do you know?” is the question asked to the protagonist early in the film. What do any of us really know about how we got here and where we’re going? Garland’s ‘Annihilation’ ponders heady questions about what it means to be human and what is real versus illusion. Are you ready to find out what’s inside?
Garland’s film is based on the first book in Jeff Vandermeer’s Southern Reach trilogy. If you’re one of those that expect a film to be exactly like the book, you will be sadly disappointed. Film is a visual medium and therefore a different form of storytelling than books. If you keep that in mind, ‘Annihilation’ is a much more enjoyable ride. Don’t forget that several of Stanley Kubrick’s films were box office disasters before they were hailed as masterpieces. When ‘2001: A Space Odyseey’ landed in theaters in 1968, nobody went to see it until the college crowd made it into a midnight cult classic. The point is that bold storytelling that takes risks may not appeal to the masses but over time is more appreciated for its grand ideas of humanity. When you check out ‘Annihilation,’ Garland lures you into a beautiful world that becomes unnerving when nature turns vicious.
Lena (Portman) is a biology professor at John Hopkins University. She grieves over the loss of her husband, Kane (Oscar Isaac) who went missing on a special ops mission a year ago. One weekend, he appears out of nowhere at the house. Lena asks what happened to him but only gets zombie-like stares from him. All of a sudden, he begins to cough blood and is taken away by ambulance only to be intercepted by soldiers dressed in black. Lena wakes up in a top-secret lab where she is questioned by psychologist Dr. Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh). She tells her that Kane was part of a secretive mission to find out about a mysterious force called The Shimmer. The unusual force field has taken over a section of swamp land in Florida with a lighthouse but is gradually growing in size. The fear is that if it continues to grow it could potentially destroy the human race.
Before you know it, Lena is part of an expedition team that includes Dr. Ventress, a paramedic named Anya (Gina Rodriguez), anthropologist Cass (Tuva Novotny), and physicist Josie (Tess Thompson). It’s impressive that they are all women and never show any signs of fear on this suicide mission into Area X. Once they enter The Shimmer that looks like a moving Vincent Van Gogh painting, weird things begin to happen. Their radio equipment fails and their compasses stop working. The more they explore the area, the more they soon discover that there is something off about the plants and creatures inhabiting the forest. Garland cranks up the suspense when he unleashes horror film jump scares. Kudos goes to the music by Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury that gives the mutated Shimmer an eerie feel. The production design by Mark Digby and cinematography by Rob Hardy makes the audience feel just as trapped as the women on the expedition.
Although ‘Annihilation’ delivers the gory scares, Garland is more concerned about the link between creation and destruction. It’s fascinating how it looks at fatalism. No matter how hard we try, there is a sense that we are powerless against the forces of nature and the cycle of life. Organisms eventually break down and take on another form. If you enjoy heady sci-fi films like ‘Arrival,’ you will want to venture with Natalie Portman into the unknown and trippy void of ‘Annihilation.’
