'Annhilation' aims for the high-minded sci-fi audience

The new sci-fi mind-bender Annihilation is clearly trying to the same adult, brainy audiences that powered Arrival and Interstellar to box office success and critical acclaim. It certainly boasts strong reviews, but the early reaction from audiences is mixed at best. This doesn't surprise me at all. Despite having something akin to a conventional thriller set-up, its pay-off is much more obtuse and heady, which likely turned off viewers expecting something closer to a clear and concise conclusion.

I myself was not entirely sure how I felt about the movie when the credits rolled. It is self consciously portentous and I wasn't entirely sold on the elliptical nature of its narrative. But the movie got me thinking and the more I think about it the more I like it.

I can't easily spell out what the movie is about or what is trying to say, which may be one of its larger faults, but it clearly has something to do with the self destructive nature of people and the inevitability of death -- certainly not light-hearted themes. There a few light laughs in this film, but very few, it's a stark, at times harrowing viewing experience.

There are several hair-raising suspense sequences and some pure moments of horror, but every time the film could slip into a more mainstream, propulsive pace, it pulls the rug from under you.

At the center of the film is Natalie Portman, stunning but also strikingly gaunt. At first it seems as though she has not totally lost the lilting voice she used to bring Jackie Kennedy to life just a couple years ago. She is an inherently watchable and sympathetic figure. She is surrounded by a strong supporting cast of women (Oscar Isaac has a small, but pivotal supporting role), among whom the standout for me is Jennifer Jason Leigh, who underplays her role beautifully and has such startling gravitas I found myself frustrated that she isn't in more movies.

All of the characters, including Portman's, notably have trauma and unresolved issues that in some ways provide the impetus for them to explore a mysterious "shimmer" which is gradually threatening to spread out and presumably devour the earth.

Their journey into this particular heart of darkness includes some soul searching and some riveting encounters with some highly evolved beasts, but the sense of inevitable doom that haunts every scene suggests the film's director (Ex-Machina's Alex Garland) is attempting to say something deeper than what meets the eye.

I can safely say I am not entirely sure what that something is. The film's finale in particular is pretty maddeningly ambiguous and arguably raises more questions than answers, but this is a film I will gladly be willing to revisit and dissect.

I love that the studios are still making movies like this. Sure, it's based on a popular best-seller, but if definitely is not aimed at an action movie audience looking for quick, cheap thrills. It probably won't be very profitable (Netflix is going to be handling worldwide distribution) in the short term either. But I think with some time and distance this could be remembered as a very ambitious, and potentially very great sci-fi film.

There are some really gorgeous sequences here, some incredible uses of sound and light. The filmmaking is fluid and assured. And yet I think the jury is still out if it lands emotionally.

That being said, I can't emphasize enough how much this movie isn't for everyone. It requires a lot of patience and a willingness to surrender to its distinct, and sometimes off-key rhythms (some of the music choices early in the film are particularly incongruous.) But I think the best movies stand the test of time and/or make you think, and as of right now, I can safely say the latter, and TBD on the former.