Annihilation

I find it hard to categorize the plot of Annihilation, let alone distill it down to one thing. While on the surface it appears to be your stereotypical sci-fi tale about an alien encounter, it doesn’t feel right when I try to identify it as such. Through the course of the film we encounter traditional sci-fi tropes, a touch of horror and ultimately are delivered a psychological thriller. But the question remains…just what is the mystery behind Area X?

As is the case in Jeff VanderMeer’s 2014 source novel, Annihilation, when the film picks up, we know next to nothing about Area X. We quickly learn that it is a chunk of American coastline that has become inaccessible due to an invisible border brought down by some event an unknown number of years prior. The border has one known opening, a gateway bridging the known world and Area X. We also know that many people have entered the site, but few have come back out – and the few that have returned? Well they’re never quite the same.

Here’s where things start to deviate from the book a bit. Our main character, who in the film is named Lena (portrayed studiously by Natalie Portman), joins a team of women to journey into the mysterious Area X in an attempt to discover its secrets. Little do her colleagues know, Lena’s husband was a member of the last expedition into the area. Not only that, but he returned with no memory of his time spent there and an aggressive, advanced cancer riddling his body.

As the team of women enter Area X, they are noticeably on edge, and each loses their memory of crossing the border and setting up camp the first night. In fact, a few days have passed by the time anyone becomes aware that any time has passed. It’s the first of many unnerving moments that they will encounter in Area X. Each member of the team was chosen for their professional background, each representing a different facet of science.

The leader of the expedition, Dr. Ventress, (a psychologist in the novel) is portrayed with stoic intensity by the wonderful Jennifer Jason Leigh. She is a brick wall – not conceding any semblance of distress as the team witnesses the increasing horrors that lie inside Area X. Her cold and calculating demeanor seem suited for the environment, though her motives for heading the mission are veiled.

A foil to Dr. Ventress, Tessa Thompson is the soft spoken Josie, a physicist with a history of self-harm. The other two members rounding out the team are Gina Rodriguez’s Anya and Tuva Novotny’s Cass. The former is a paramedic with a troubled past and the latter is a surveyor and geologist who lost her daughter. As Cass remarks early on, the team is composed of broken people. Each has had a formative experience that has driven them into the arms of Area X. Who else would volunteer for such a mission?

Natalie Portman, our heroine, Lena, is the only person whose motivations for joining the venture are unknown. In the film, she seems determined to return to the world outside of Area X with the hopes that by doing so, she will be able to help save the life of her seemingly terminally ill husband. Is this because she cheated on him and carries guilt from it? It’s the only reason that I can think of for that particular plot point. The affair doesn’t exist in the novel, so in that world her motives are more unclear. Does she choose to explore Area X because she has no attachments to the known world after her husband’s death? I think so.

What I do resonate with here is that the core of the character has remained intact in the film adaptation. She’s detached and for the most part operates in her own little world. She’s a biologist. And unlike the others on the team, she inherently is her role. What do I mean? Each of the others sees themselves as an individual, but Lena sees herself as the biologist. It’s who she is at her core. She is her work and her work is her life. This remains true through both the novel and the film.

Now I don’t want to delve too deeply into the twists and turns that ensue in Area X, but I suppose I can give away a few of the more minor details – more on the artistic side than specific plot points.

Everything in Area X is beautiful. There’s simply no denying that. But everything is also infused with an eerie sense of horror and a growing sense of unease. At one point, the team finds a human skeleton, altered and torn apart in a horrific fashion, that is overgrown with flora and fauna, creating beauty in the horror. That’s sort of a recurring theme throughout the film – that while this presence or force is not of this world, and we’re unsure of its goals or motivations, it’s bringing equal parts beauty and unease.

The most beautiful/disturbing introduction in the film was that of the human-shaped shrubs in an overgrown field in Area X. Their presence elicits  memories of a time when these same lands were sprinkled with children running with kites or playing tag. It’s this subtle allusion to the past and how it has been transformed in this space that establishes the overall unnerving tone of the film.

Overall, Annihilation will likely confuse avid fans of the source material as it is an entirely loose adaptation. While the key storyline stays largely intact, almost everything else is different. While we could dive into those differences and really start to nitpick things, I don’t really think that it’s necessary. I always try to appreciate art for what it is – regardless of whether there is a source material or the art is an original.

I think the film works. I think the acting is fairly strong, especially considering that the film sits squarely on the shoulders of our five female leads. The storyline is captivating and ultimately leaves the viewer with a deeply unsettled feeling. It’s not a feeling that I relish, but it tells me that the film worked as a whole.

Parting note: Shout out to the individual in charge of the score. It was eerie, and utterly set the tone for the film. Anything weaker and I think it wouldn’t have fit.