After months of hearing unceasing praise for Alex Garland’s sci-fi thriller “Annihilation”, I at long last caught up to it. Expectations were not only met but pleasantly exceeded as I watched Garland’s newest sci-fi spectacle unfold in all its glory. In the age of CGI, it’s harder than ever to stun viewers of the genre with something new, so when a film like this stands out in every way, it is worth taking the time to appreciate.
A never-better Natalie Portman plays Lena, a former soldier turned biology professor who — after a disorienting encounter with a loved one she took for dead — volunteers for a special research expedition into what experts refer to as The Shimmer. That is all I can say; any more than that would be spoiling Garland’s master storytelling that unfolds this mystery slowly — teasing our fiery desire to always know what is going on and what everything means. It reminded me a little of Denis Villeneuve’s “Arrival” (2016): it’s careful to refrain from divulging all its secrets even up to the very last shot (which, curiously, is also a hug between lovers).
While Portman will rightfully be the talking point for most, “Annihilation” would not be at all the same without its supporting cast. The team that confronts The Shimmer along with Portman’s Lena includes Dr. Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh), Anya (Gina Rodriguez), Cass (Tuva Novotny), and Josie (Tessa Thompson). All are perfect in their relatively small roles, but the one that stands out the most is Leigh; hers is the part of the pessimistic psychologist who is fed up with staring at The Shimmer all day long and thus decides to enter it herself. She transmits waves of apprehension and doubt from a performance that’s characterized by croaking speech. Just like her teammates, we can’t help but not trust her completely. The other immaculate supporting performance here belongs to Oscar Isaac who plays the part of Lena’s husband, Kane. Despite receiving significantly less screen time than his co-stars, Isaac uses every second of it to paint a mysterious portrait of a man scarred by all he has seen; in flashbacks, he provides a warm, comforting presence for Lena, but in the present there are moments where he glances up at Lena with the coldest of glares. Kane is a full, complex character formed by only minutes of screen time by an expert actor.
“Annihilation” is minimalist in dialogue; we need someone to explain The Shimmer to us, of course, but that never gets too overwhelming to handle. For a high-concept sci-fi thriller, this is actually quite economical, sparing us much jargon and nonsensical plot twists we would otherwise get in a typical genre film. But what it withholds in exposition, it makes up for in the grandiose visuals we experience especially once inside The Shimmer, a phenomenon that features its own enthralling variations on nature which Garland visualizes in the most striking of ways.
If years of watching movies have taught anyone anything, it’s that an impactful ending is most important, yet also the most difficult to pull off. “Annihilation” features a third act with scarcely any dialogue (a 15-minute section here is absolutely silent save for a pulsing electronic score); what it accomplishes is breathtaking —truly among the best scenes of the year.
“Annihilation” shows us that films have both visual and in story-telling horizons not yet reached. It is yet another landmark work coming from a genre notorious for changing the course of film history (i.e “2001: A Space Odyssey”,“Star Wars”, “Blade Runner”, etc); it is also a genre familiar with deep, philosophic inquiries about the human condition, inquiries which are not absent in Garland’s film. For its unique aesthetics, performances, and plot, “Annihilation” will surely earn a place among the pantheon of 21st century sci-fi masterpieces.
