Annihilation: Women Can Be Scientists Too!

As you can gather from the title of this post, while there may be a lot of things to like about Annihilation, my main takeaway is Yay, an all-female cast! Starring Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, and Tuva Novotny as a band of female scientists who have to investigate an extraterrestrial phenomenon, this movie is an excellent example of how any genre of film can benefit from having more women. We are still so attuned to having men swanning around in all the lead and supporting roles, that it still feels novel in this day and age to see a cast of diverse women doing their own thing.

Written and directed by Alex Garland (based on the novel by Jeff VanderMeer), this movie is a twisty sci-fi action thriller that is extremely weird but also extremely gorgeous. The story involves an expedition into the "Shimmer," a strange phenomenon that has enveloped a large swathe of a US national park and is continually expanding. No one returns when they enter the Shimmer, except for one man (played by Oscar Isaac; naturally even extraterrestrial phenomena are loath to kill that handsome man), but he is seriously ill when he returns, and his wife, Lena (Natalie Portman), decides she has to enter the Shimmer so that she can save her husband.

The women who enter the Shimmer are all harboring their own personal secrets and demons. This is essentially a suicide mission, but it takes a while for the audience to suss out the backstory of each character and understand her motivations. Like Garland's prior film, Ex Machina, this is not a simple sci-fi thriller. It's also deeply psychological, and part of the terrifying horror element of this movie comes from the fact that the Shimmer seeps into the psyche of each woman and causes a unique brand of paranoia. The tone of this movie never ceases to be eerie and creepy, and you start questioning how exactly you would go crazy if you ever entered the Shimmer yourself.

Putting aside the characters and deeper psychological ramifications of the plot, however, let's discuss how this film is a visionary masterpiece. Part of the effect of the Shimmer is wreaking genetic havoc in nature, and initially, this manifests itself as stunning plant life that looks like a Jackson Pollock dreamscape. I'll be honest, I took great pleasure in the first half of this film because there was so much science talk about genetics and cross-species hybridization that my inner biochemist nerded out spectacularly. My inner cinephile separately nerded out about the amazing production design and cinematography that lent a dream-like, truly "shimmery" quality to this movie. The soundtrack was also slightly odd but fitting, mostly consisting of simple guitar interludes that perfectly suited the beautiful but haunting quality of the first half.

I appreciated Annihilation for its artistry, ambition, and insanely talented cast. One of the wonderful things about casting a bunch of women is that they all have the space to be their own kind of woman, rather than being the token female in the movie who has to represent all of womankind for the audience. However, I can't deny that this film is rather trippy and ends on a fairly ambiguous note that will leave you with more questions than answers. Part of that might be to leave the door open for some sequels (which I wouldn't object to at all), but part of that is Alex Garland's style. This is a man who makes glorious films that are also cerebral and require a bit of thought on your part. So indulge in the Shimmer, and let me know what you make of it all.