Annihilation | Who Is The True Lena?

Annihilation may appeal to those who enjoy visually stunning films. However, if you prefer hard-core science fiction with intellectual reasoning, it may not be the best fit for you. The film presents some challenges with a confusing storyline, including nonlinear flashbacks and clueless characters. Some viewers felt that the story was not clearly explained. While Alex Garland may have failed to fully unfold his ideas, the film's visuals are presented in a unique and coherent aesthetic. Ultimately, the film's visual art and rhetorical meaning are its strengths. It may be more enjoyable to focus on these aspects rather than the story itself.

Have you ever imagined yourself dissolving into a dark void? At first glance, Annihilation implies that the pursuit of knowledge leads to self-destruction, a slow and dreadful disintegration into nothingness. But at its heart, the movie is about one's unwavering determination to face the inevitable decay of life head-on, choosing to venture into the unknown darkness instead of settling for what is already familiar.

It is not the darkness that swallows you, but rather, you who walks into the darkness, consuming the vast unknown and ultimately becoming a part of it.

Lena, a prestigious biology professor, is driven by longing to join a suicidal mission into the mysterious 'Shimmer' - an area of land surrounded by a shimmering barrier where the laws of nature are distorted and mutated by an alien presence. Her husband Kane had gone missing there and miraculously returned. However, the area continues to expand and affect every life within it, gradually transforming plants, animals, and humans into new and unpredictable forms. The problem is that no one who has entered the 'Shimmer' has ever returned except for Kane, who is now in a deep coma.

In the context of the story, Lena's profession is more symbolic than practical. Theoretically, it should help her deconstruct the mystery of Shimmer, allowing her to follow the trail and uncover the truth behind Kane's disappearance. However, Lena rarely exhibits her expertise in the story. Surprisingly, the true nature of the "Shimmer" is discovered by a supporting character who doesn't necessarily contribute to the main plot. Additionally, none of the supporting characters, except for Kane, are sufficiently portrayed. With or without them, Lena could have still finished her journey.

While the character building may seem repetitive, it's clear that Garland did not intend for it to be taken too seriously. Given the suggested setting, any human knowledge that exists hardly has any relevance to the alien. The alien's impact on Earth is not just new or advanced, but completely beyond and fundamentally different. Films with such high-concept settings typically entertain audiences with immersive spectacles. In a previous article titled "The Thing is Coming to Get Ya, And You Don't Know It.", I commented on The Thing (1982), which had a similar approach but executed it flawlessly. Unfortunately, Garland fails to create a coherent tension that can constantly engage audiences to follow the wonders.

If you find these two deers uncanny, they probably find you the same way.

During Lena's journey, she encounters two deer with similar shapes but different skin. One appears vibrant, while the other seems to be decaying. However, when they run and leap identically, it becomes unclear whether they are truly different. Upon closer inspection, the skin of the left deer is not necessarily rotten, but likely covered with grass, and the antler of the right deer grows flowers. This graphic message in 'Shimmer' highlights the distorted law of nature and the uncanny relationship between death and life that develops in this strange land.

To clarify, the extraterrestrial presence is not only a physical or, more accurately, biological invasion of our planet. Rather, it is transforming Earth into a realm where we, the native inhabitants, may eventually be considered the outsiders.

Lena and her team encounter all sorts of bizarre things on their journey, and while initially shocked, they manage to keep their composure. However, as they try to make sense of the inexplicable phenomena, their sanity begins to unravel. The concept of the 'Shimmer' is simply beyond their comprehension. Trying to put into words something that is indescribable is a daunting task, and it is much more effective to simply show it. In film, bombarding the audience with lengthy explanations can even come across as condescending. After all, they're not there to be given a lecture.

You see how these plants grows in a certain way that imitates human shape, posing with an intriguing stillness, which tells that they are yet still plants, but also not so much any more.

In my opinion, there may be additional insights to be gleaned from Garland's work. The film only presents a limited number of shots featuring these remarkable plants, and it is unclear whether they are actually in motion. However, given their tendency to mimic human behavior as they grow, it is possible that they may eventually exhibit similar actions, albeit at a much slower pace, such as walking, running, or even embracing one another.

There is an alternative theory that suggests these plants may have originated from humans. This idea is quite fascinating, isn't it? While we have seen plant monsters or humanoid plant creatures portrayed on screen before, they are typically depicted as "animal-like". Whether they have sharp, rattan-like features, dull, tree-like characteristics, or are as fragile as a flower, these creatures behave like animals and seem to possess plant-like attributes.

When the stillness of plants merges with the lively rhetoric that "they adopt like humans", the line between animal and plant becomes increasingly unclear. This vagueness eventually drives the group of scientists to madness, as they realize that their fundamental understanding of nature may have been incorrect.

Throughout the film, one question remain unanswered, which is “who is the alien?”

Although Lena has met the alien, she cannot describe it. It's not that she doesn't want to; as suggested above, it's simply beyond her capability. She could have drawn it if she had graphic talents, but that's a different story.

As you may know from the story about shapeshifters, many of us fear the possibility that our existence could be replaced and our lives taken. In the movie, when Lena looks at the alien, she also sees a reflection of herself, one that can potentially replace her. The visual of one single cell dividing into a person is not enchanting to her as a scientist, but it is shocking to her as an individual. When the alternate Lena is formed, the idea of Lena becomes unclear. In other words, with a new Lena that has every cell mirrored and copied, the original Lena loses the boundaries that once distinguished her from external beings. Everything that used to belong to the original Lena no longer makes sense, since the alternate Lena is now creating her own life, and the original Lena becomes the "past Lena.”

The real question is not who the true Lena is, but rather who defines Lena. And guess what, a “past Lena” can never define Lena, as whatever she does will be a step behind, she can only paraphrase the new Lena.