Ahead of its Time

Rating: 10/10 (10 May 2019)

There is so much good here, but first, let's start with the visuals; shall we? The third act of this film will draw many comparisons to "2001: A Space Odyssey", and that is totally fair. This film, much like Kubrick's masterpiece, slips from a sci-fi adventure film towards a psychedelic, quasi-existential, super-metaphysical meditation in the end. The result is magical, bizarre, and, in a way, terrifying. Throughout the film (before we loose our minds completely to the world of Area X), the visuals are utterly compelling; the film is unlike anything else I've seen. In a way, it's indescribable until you see it for yourself.
In the book, Lena's character is known primarily as The Biologist (likewise, the other characters are also known primarily by their occupations); the biologist has a hard time connecting to anyone; in fact there's a scene when the biologist is asked what she would do if she were infected by Area X, and she responds saying she'd take a sample of herself. She is cold, calculated. She has a hard time caring for anything other than what she's working on. There's a scene in this film when Lena is speaking with Daniel, he says that it's not him she hates; it's herself. She responds by saying, "No, Daniel, I hate you too." That line captures the essence of the novel perfectly. Portman's distant portrayal of Lena matches exactly how the Biologist would react. I believe it's brilliantly executed. But, for those looking for warmth within characters, don't come here.
Garland's direction, too, is pretty impressive. For those unfamiliar with his other work, check out his directorial debut, "Ex Machina" (2014), for which he received a Best Original Screenplay nomination. Garland's career is already quite impressive; he's penned a few very notable scifi films including "Sunshine" (2007), "28 Days Later" (2002), and "Dredd" (2012). He was also, reportedly, paid a million dollars for writing the Halo movie, which never seemed to get off the ground. The stylistic choices Garland made in "Ex Machina" are elaborated upon in this film; there's plenty of subtle symbolism (and some not so subtle). His ability to create an atmosphere much like Vandermeer's books was what really blew me away. Upon reading the Southern Reach Trilogy, I thought the books were essentially unfilmable, but Garland has proven me wrong, and I'm very happy he did.