"Annihilation", a mind-bending psychological/sci-fi thriller from director Alex Garland, starring Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriquez, Oscar Isaac, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny, et al.
According to biologist Lena (Portman), during some half-serious pillow talk with husband Kane (Isaac), God has made a "mistake"-- that the Hayflick limit which ensures senescence and eventual death is not natural, but due to a fault in our genes. If it could somehow be circumvented, a young Lena jokes, "I could look like this forever".
Enter, "The Shimmer" (aka Area X). It starts with a small meteorite striking a lighthouse. Witnesses report a "shimmer" surrounding the lighthouse. From there it begins to spread and shows no signs of stopping, altering all forms of life in its path at a cellular/genetic level. There are mutations, sometimes beautiful and sometimes cancerous, and "duplicates" of form: doppelgangers if you will.
Is it destroying (annihilating), or creating something new? Perhaps both.
Some quotes from the movie:
Dr. Ventress: "It's destroying everything."
Lena: "It's not destroying. It's making something new."
Kane: "I thought I was a man. I had a life. People called me Kane. And now I'm not so sure. If I wasn't Kane, what was I? Was I you? Were you me? My flesh moves like liquid. My mind is just... cut loose. I can't bear it... I can't bear it."
Contains some horror elements... Those who have an aversion to horror might want to skip this one. Not a feel good movie or one which neatly ties up all the loose ends. Ambiguous, very little of the good guy/bad guy formula in it. I found it captivating.
, and that's questionable.
