Z for Zachariah is a post-apocalyptic character drama. The film
doesn’t show the usual bleak landscape. Instead our survivors live in a newly
formed garden of eden. The story isn’t
about the apocalypse, the apocalypse is needed just so our story can happen.
There needed to be a reason for a deserted island scenario set in the middle of
West Virginia Appalachia. The film is focused on just three characters and how
difficult it would be for strangers to live together when it’s one women and
two men.
The film starts off with Margot Robbie
character, Ann, searching of supplies in a makeshift radiation suit. Going
through her daily task we see she is completely alone, and Robbie does a
fantastic job of showing how lonely she is without a word of dialogue. Credit for
this should also be given to the director Craig Zobel. With
just Robbie’s actions and a trusty dog Craig was able to frame how lonely life
must be for Ann in a short five minutes. We don’t have to wait long until Chitwetel Ejofor character,
Loomis, stumbles into the valley. We see him in some sort of radiation suit
taking readings. He is ecstatic to find a place where he can survive outside of
a suit.
This begins a very slow get to know you session between
Loomis and Ann. The movie probably isn’t for everyone, but I enjoyed the
interaction between the characters. Robbie and Ejofor did a magnificent job in
their roles. Their portrayal of two people who haven’t interacted with others
in a prolonged amount of time was spot on. Robbie was truly amazing in her
role. She has played the trophy wife in Wolf of Wall Street and a smart
confident thief in Focus. She transforms in Z for Zachariah into an innocent
country girl. Ejofor plays a competent scientist trying to survive the end of
the world. He is taken aback by how sweetly innocent Ann is, and seems not to
want to take advantage of her.
The third individual to enter into our triangle is Caleb
played by Chris
Pine. Caleb instantly has more in common with Ann since he is a miner from
the same area. This causes Loomis to become almost instantly jealous and
protective of Ann. It’s this tension which drives the movie from this point on.
Ann feels attached to Loomis, but has more of a connection to Caleb. Caleb
seems not to want to stick around, but why would he want to go? The valley they
are living in is picture perfect.
The three people need electricity to be able to operate a
freezer and store food for the winter. Loomis comes up with a plan to use water
to power an old generator. They start working on the problem and as a team get
it accomplished. The ending of the movie is extremely ambiguous and leaves much
up to the interpretation of the audience. I rented the movie and watched the
last ten minutes twice to see if I caught everything. Even after two viewings I’m
still not sure what happened. I have a leaning based on our characters, but it
isn’t a strong feeling. You will have to watch and make your own conclusions.
The movie is extremely simple, three characters have to
learn to live together at the end of the world. The premise: Grow enough food
before the winter so they don’t starve. What makes the movie come alive is the
beautiful Icelandic mountains and the three superb actors who make our characters
utterly believable. If you are interested in watching a character study on
human interactions I think this is a good example. Short review, but I don’t
want to give anymore of the plot away. Give this movie a shot either on rental
or in the theater. It’s worth seeing if you enjoy a good character drama.
If you have seen the movie let me know what you think
happens at the end in the comments. So for those who haven’t watched don’t read
the commentsJ.
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