“Annihilation”: adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy

[AncalagonTheBlack]

{Exclusive} Oscar Isaac Reteams With “Ex Machina” Director Alex Garland For “Annihilation”

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Star Wars: The Force Awakens star Oscar Isaac is officially on board Alex Garland’s ANNIHILATION. Isaac joins Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, and Tessa Thompson in the forthcoming sci-fi thriller. Garland is set to direct his own script, adapted from the first novel of the ‘Southern Reach’ trilogy by science fiction author Jeff VanderMeer.

The story centers around a biologist (Portman) who, in seeking answers to her husband’s tragic disappearance volunteers for a government expedition into an area sealed off as an environmental disaster zone. What she discovers, however, is pristine wilderness, and a mysterious dark force within it. Annihilation will begin shooting later this spring in London.

While the main cast has now been set, not all of the roles have been announced. Portman is playing the biologist, who also acts as the narrator as the Southern Reach’s twelfth expedition makes its way into the untamed, dangerous Area X. According to IMDb, Leigh will play the psychologist, the de facto leader of the group; not surprising, considering her critically lauded turn in Quentin Tarantino’s Hateful Eight last year. Thompson and Rodriguez will play the anthropologist and the surveyer, though it’s unclear which is which.

Seeing as there’s only one major male character in the novel, Isaac is most likely playing the biologist’s husband, who we get to know through a series of flashbacks via the biologist’s journal, as well as other materials she uncovers. The synopsis adds some more mystery:

    The story centers around a biologist (Portman) who, in seeking answers to her husband’s tragic disappearance volunteers for a government expedition into an area sealed off as an environmental disaster zone. What she discovers, however, is pristine wilderness, and a mysterious dark force within it.

 

 

 

[AncalagonTheBlack]

Out on Netflix for those of us outside the US.Gonna watch it tonight.

Interesting article by The Guardian on why it did not get a cinema release outside the USA: Was Annihilation too brainy for the box office? Alex Garland’s follow-up to Ex Machina was hotly anticipated, yet it’s gone direct to Netflix. Why?

 

 

[Aemon Stark]

I saw it in theatres here (Canada). It was pretty trippy, though maybe I'll hold further comments for now. 

[aceluby]

I saw it last week.  Felt about the same as I did the books.  Really cool premise, really disappointing use of development inside that premise.  Visuals were awesome though.

[Caligula_K3]

I loved it, as I loved the book. There were a lot of changes, but it really captured the overall feel of it: the creepy ecohorror, the sense of incomprehensibility.  The bear scene was phenomenal. I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending, though. I'll probably need a second viewing to fully process it. Anyway, I'm very happy that such a unique movie could be made, and sad that Paramount had so little faith in it and that it's done so badly at the box office.

[Aemon Stark]

Some of the visuals were utterly haunting and stayed with me long after I'd left the theatre. The premise might have been familiar but the execution felt fresh - even in how the members of the expedition get picked off one by one (it was easy to expect but the "how" was interesting). 

Certainly a lot cooler than that Han Solo trailer... Woody Harrelson in Star Wars? 

[Spockydog]

Watched this last night. To say it was disappointing would be a massive understatement. So much meh.

 

[GAROVORKIN]

On 3/12/2018 at 7:24 PM, Aemon Stark said:

Some of the visuals were utterly haunting and stayed with me long after I'd left the theatre. The premise might have been familiar but the execution felt fresh - even in how the members of the expedition get picked off one by one (it was easy to expect but the "how" was interesting). 

Certainly a lot cooler than that Han Solo trailer... Woody Harrelson in Star Wars? 

 

In some ways , it reminded of  Lovecraft's story The Color of Space .   

[Spring Bass]

I'm glad I saw it, and it was visually quite surreal and lovely. But it didn't feel particularly deep to me - it's just "what if there was a Zone of Strangeness from Space where the genes get all mixed up and you have weird mix animals, and we sent a troubled heroine in with a personal connection to it?"

 

[Centrist Simon Steele]

I liked it. The last bit of the movie went on a bit too long and kind of subverted some of the themes the film had setup, but I think Garland had a hard time figuring out how to close this one. Either way, it was good. I liked Ex Machina a lot more.

[Isis]

I think it's a massive shame that this didn't get a cinema release in the UK. The visuals are super sexy and it would've been interesting to hear what the sound was like in the cinema too. Sadness.

As a scientist who looks at blood cells all the time and teaches microscopy I'm a little bothered by some of the bullshit science on offer... that said, I am (as always) totally fine with suspending belief and being willing to accept stuff which is patently NOT REAL. I like stories. I don't know... just be realistic when it comes to stuff that we can do. 

Anyway. I caved in and watched the film before reading the book I (even though I bought a copy recently). I will still try to give the book a go. But, again, I'm just sad that a decent, kind of actiony, scifi film with lots of ladeez didn't get a bigger stage to show itself off on. 

 

[Mexal]

I was a big fan. Gorgeous to look at, well acted and an interesting premise. 

[Starkess]

I saw this the other night and was not expecting it to be so fucking TERRIFYING. I know I'm a pansy but my friend that I was with was also super freaked out by it and neither of us wanted to go home afterwards (it was dark out!). I haven't read the book and only had the vaguest idea of what it was going into it. Thought it was well done with acting and visuals, although I did have some serious qualms about the "science" on display.

[AncalagonTheBlack]

11 hours ago, Isis said:

I think it's a massive shame that this didn't get a cinema release in the UK. The visuals are super sexy and it would've been interesting to hear what the sound was like in the cinema too. Sadness.

As a scientist who looks at blood cells all the time and teaches microscopy I'm a little bothered by some of the bullshit science on offer... that said, I am (as always) totally fine with suspending belief and being willing to accept stuff which is patently NOT REAL. I like stories. I don't know... just be realistic when it comes to stuff that we can do. 

Anyway. I caved in and watched the film before reading the book I (even though I bought a copy recently). I will still try to give the book a go. But, again, I'm just sad that a decent, kind of actiony, scifi film with lots of ladeez didn't get a bigger stage to show itself off on. 

 

It's a real shame.It seems no one talked about this movie much in the media.RedLetterMedia ha a good analysis of this.

 

[red snow]

15 hours ago, Isis said:

I think it's a massive shame that this didn't get a cinema release in the UK. The visuals are super sexy and it would've been interesting to hear what the sound was like in the cinema too. Sadness.

As a scientist who looks at blood cells all the time and teaches microscopy I'm a little bothered by some of the bullshit science on offer... that said, I am (as always) totally fine with suspending belief and being willing to accept stuff which is patently NOT REAL. I like stories. I don't know... just be realistic when it comes to stuff that we can do. 

Anyway. I caved in and watched the film before reading the book I (even though I bought a copy recently). I will still try to give the book a go. But, again, I'm just sad that a decent, kind of actiony, scifi film with lots of ladeez didn't get a bigger stage to show itself off on. 

 

It highlights how movies still need to get a big screen release to be taken seriously. I also think there's a genuine backlash from critics against netflix with their stream only options. Although this doesn't explain the lack of attention in the US where it at least had a limited release.

I still have no interest in watching the most recent ghostbusters but I couldn't help thinking on a couple of occasions while watching Annihilation that it was essentially it's own "ghostbusters" without having to female spin off of a film. 4 female scientists going into a torn dimension in space/terraforming environment and encountering weird shit. Then again, maybe all the upset mens about Ghostbusters would have found their gentials falling off if "Annihilation" had received a mainstream release.