Review of Annihilation (2018) by Kurt M — 13 Dec 2018

I will be honest in my bias towards sci fi movies. I thought this particular film adaptation by Alex Garland had me ~quaking~. The biggest theme pictured through out? Human's natural movement towards self destruction. In cells, in psychology, and in action.

The story line and cinematography work symbiotically to confuse the viewer. There is a constant questioning of timeline, space, and who's-who. This further's the movies already confused world. Inside the space of the shimmer, everything is broken down and "refracted". We see certain camera angles play on this idea- shots of bodies combining, perspectives breaking down views, overanalyzing seemingly innocent objects such as water. The film constantly questions what is real and what is not- enough that there is truly the most amount of space for interpretation a movie could possibly allow.

I will say the movie had a few scientific points that made it difficult for me to believe what was happening. The science, though objectively fake, didnt convince me of being real. We know that it isnt possible for cells and DNA to function the way it does in the film. Yet, in order for the movie to do its job fully, convince the audience to think about what it would mean if science could work this way, the science needs to be believable. I don't see how DNA can be refracted. I know sound and light can be refracted, I know genes can be altered, I do not believe in refracted DNA. And to be honest, this is all you need to believe for the movie to come to life.

So, I submited to the "movie magic" of this refraction process, and was pleasantly surprised by how confounded the plot became. visuals changed, becoming more eerie. Character suddenly desolved. Technology was thrown into the film in moments that felt quite random. Music, too, seemed to follow no pattern or tragectory. The whole movie felt like floating in limbo.

The ending leaves you wanting more. What is even really going on? Why are their eyes changing? who even are these people?

This film juggles a lot of moving elements succesfully. Though it drops the ball a few times, overall its a testiment to the directors ability to portray complex philosophical ideas. Though his characters and science are quite simplistic, they do go places. It could be a very intensional use of stock characters- their changes become so much more obvious as a result. This could be out of laziness from the director. Either way, it still works to produce a work that really makes you think.