'Annihilation' Aims for Greatness and Takes Too Long to Get There

(Paramount)

Alex Garland’s Ex Machina was one of the strongest directorial debuts in recent memory. It was an instant sci-fi classic, an incredibly precise chamber piece, a philosophical exercise, and it introduced American audiences to Alicia Vikander with one of the most magnificent, balletic performances put to screen.

Topping a film like that is no easy task, and Garland’s latest effort, Annihilation, had to do something spectacular to escape the enormous shadow of its predecessor. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite manage to.

Annihilation centers on Natalie Portman’s Lena, a professor of biology and former soldier whose husband (Oscar Isaac) has been missing for a year after unceremoniously departing on a secretive mission. When he unexpectedly shows up at their home, clearly not the same man he once was, they are swept away by government agents to Area X, a research facility overlooking what is termed “the Shimmer.” This slowly expanding zone, marked by oily, translucent walls, does mysterious things to the biological life inside. Multiple exploration teams have gone in, but only Isaac’s character has returned. In hope of finding answers, Lena and an all-women team of scientists (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, Gina Rodriguez, and Tuva Novotny) enter the Shimmer. Naturally, some crazy things go down.

I’m going to approach this as more of a reaction than a traditional review because, honestly, I don’t know exactly what to say about Annihilation. As I was watching, I kept thinking that I should have been enjoying it more. There was nothing overtly wrong with it, but this is the kind of film I would usually love and for whatever reason, I didn’t.

I don’t think anything here shows weakness in Garland’s abilities as a filmmaker. Following a film like Ex Machina is a daunting feat and what he attempts here is praiseworthy. Annihilation is gutsy, fearless filmmaking, and even if I wasn’t always head over heels for it, there’s more to applaud here than in most of the movies that I know I like.

(Paramount)

Annihilation is obviously the kind of film that needs to be seen at least twice before coming to any conclusive opinions. But after my first viewing, I’m wracking my brain trying to figure out just what didn’t click with me. Maybe it’s that Garland often feels too restrained by conventional forms of narrative (at least those of contemporary American cinema). The Shimmer is supposed to be a place the will drive a person crazy; what’s inside is meant to be unnatural, breaking the laws of nature, and by extension, the mind. But a good deal of what occurs in the Shimmer doesn’t actually register as it’s intended to. We’re told that our characters are losing their grasp on reality, but the film doesn’t mess with us enough to actually convey this. There are still some terrific, unsettling moments (all I’ll say is bear, insides, and wall), but I think Garland is largely held back. He doesn’t throw the rulebook out the window and the film is consequently hindered by normalcy.

That is, until it isn’t. As Annihilation reaches its climax, Garland pulls the rug out. Rationality is obliterated and the film plummets into the realm of pure sensation. What was once a sci-fi Apocalypse Now goes full 2001. It’s audacious, unapologetic cinema, the kind that’s repulsive to mainstream audiences. But to the cinephiles, it’s the stuff of dreams; a psychedelic acid trip that both burrows under your skin and glues your eyes to the screen. To think that international audiences will be watching this in their brightly-lit living rooms on small screens, distracted by conversation and cell phones—what a waste.

(Paramount)

The premise is intriguing, the craft is excellent, save for one very obvious use of green screen and a handful of odd framing choices, and the cast is fine (no one leaves much of an impression, but then again, this really isn’t an actors’ film). But up until the third act, something is off with the pacing. Before that, the film never pulled me in outside of one or two genuinely terrific scenes of horror. Even if Annihilation was aiming for that deliberately sluggish pace (something like Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker or Martin Scorsese’s Silence), it doesn’t hit the mark. It mostly wanders, almost finding the film it’s trying to be but never quite succeeding until it’s too late.

I love that the explorers are all women (ambiguously characterized or otherwise), which is unfortunately rare in a sci-fi film. But as much as I wanted to love the rest of the film, I only came away loving parts of it. I hope that I will change my mind and I intend to revisit it sometime in the future.

Regardless, even if it’s not perfect, we desperately need more films like this. Annihilation takes some serious risks, and when those risks pay off, they really pay off.