Annihilation directed by Alex Garland and starring Natalie Portman is a film that is difficult to put into a category. It mainly follows the themes of a Sci-Fi genre, however, it is also very dramatic, terrifying and disturbing at parts and it really makes you think. Before reading any further, I strongly suggest that you stop what you are doing and watch the film yourself. There will be spoilers!
Cancer and Depression
In the film, Garland essentially grapples with the complexity of cancer, depression and suicide in an unconventional manner. If it weren't for some of the unsubtle references to these themes it would have been difficult to pick up.
The world beyond The Shimmer is a beautiful, colourful and somewhat peaceful environment initially, however, as the team venture deeper in they begin to encounter hostilities. This can be linked to the experiences of a cancer patient or someone suffering from depression. The progression into The Shimmer and the encounters along the way represent the experience over time. Each character has a different perspective on what is going on, as stated by Radek "Ventress wants to face it", Lena "wants to fight it" and Radek, who grappled with depression and self-harm herself, was happy to accept it. This represents how different people are affected by both cancer and depression.
The final part of the film, Lena encounters something that takes a humanoid form and attempts to "mirror" her actions and looks. This mirroring represents how, in both cancer and depression, our bodies almost literally turn against us. Lena battles with 'herself' and survives, representing those who have battled cancer and depression and came out alive. However, the shimmering in both her and Kane's eyes at the end of the film depicts how while someone can survive this experience, it will always be a part of them.
The Tattoo
A detail that I noticed yet it wasn't clearly shown or spoken about in the film is the tattoo that mysteriously appears on the left forearm of Lena, Anya and Kane.
The tattoo is of a snake, twisted into the shape of an infinity symbol, eating its tail. This is also known as an ouroboros, has many different meanings. The first symbol is of a cycle of renewal, which is mentioned by Lena close to the start of the film. She refers to a flower stem as being "stuck in a continuous mutation" and it is seen throughout the film that each plant and animal seems to morph and change as it grows. Almost as if every moment it becomes a new species. The ouroboros also represents the infinite cycle of creation and destruction, which links back to our original themes of cancer depression which essentially leads to self-destruction (or destruction of the self).
The origin of the tattoo is unclear, however. What we know is that the tattoo was not there originally, and only started to form once Lena and Anya had entered The Shimmer. It could be that someone before them also had the tattoo and that it has been refracted onto them by the 'prism effect'. However, if this is the case, then why didn't it happen to the others? It could be that Garland only intended the tattoo to be a form of imagery that helped enhance the themes he was portraying. Or maybe the Shimmer chose to brand these characters because it intended them to leave The Shimmer, but Anya was killed before she could (she attempted to persuade the group after the bear attack to leave).
Conclusion
The film in a whole is a form of art. And, just like a painting, it is often hard to find a definitive answer to most of the questions we have. Garland leaves his film open to interpretation. Some may agree with my thoughts, I've definitely left out more themes and messages within the film because it was Garland's intention for people to make up their own minds on the film. Thus I don't feel right giving the film a rating or a percentage. I really enjoyed watching the film and experiencing the emotions that it makes you feel. How did it make you feel? Please let me know what you felt and what insights you have to share in the comments. I would love to read them!
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Analysing movies is something I've often felt like doing yet have never done. If I get enough upvotes I'll probably continue to write more. Either way I hope you found my insights valuable!
Written by Jakob McDonald