Can Annihilation win an Oscar?

Annihilation is a science-fiction spectacle based on a novel by the same name. It comes to fruition on the big screen thanks to Ex Machina director Alex Garland, leading to a highly-anticipated feature for genre fans.

Annihilation focuses on five females played by Natalie Portman, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Tuva Novotny. Portman's character is married to a military man (Oscar Isaac), constantly sent on top-secret missions for months at a time. This particular mission leads to him spending a year in the unknown phenomenon known simply as the Shimmer, a quickly-growing force-field engulfing a piece of land now overtaken by strange biology and mysterious danger. When he returns in a near-death state, it is up to Portman and this group of professionals to go into the area to find out what lies within.

How do I feel about Annihilation? Well, great, frankly, but my personal taste is not what matters, at least not for the sake of this review. I will instead be looking at the likelihood that Annihilation will find itself among awards' contenders when the time for glory comes at the end of the year. To do so, I will be analyzing the movie according to a scale I have created based upon past nominees and winners (primarily at the Oscars, as this is the awards show to end all awards shows). Now, let us find out if Annihilation is good enough to qualify for what really matters in Hollywood; golden statues.

Beating the odds

How much adversity do our characters have to overcome? How many hardships shape their journey from the beginning to the end of the film? Well, first, Annihilation centers around five leads that all have some kind of baggage that led them to this risky place to begin with. From sickness, to sobriety, to guilt, each woman is hindered by something in her life that has made it less worth living. I would not say, however, that any of them overcoming this flaw is the purpose of the film. Portman's character Lena has the truest arc of the story, and it ties into the overall theme of growth and re-creation. This is not a matter of pushing through against any kind of oppression other than self-deprecation, so for the sake of the category, and to throw in a few extra points for the film, I would say Annihilation only lands a 3/10 here.

War

The Oscars (and subsequent award shows) absolutely adore movies about war, so Annihilation has a few characters based around the military, like Isaac's Kane, who uses covert and dangerous missions as a means for escapism from some real-life hardship. He, along with some unnamed veterans are used as both a catalyst and direction for the women when they have to face the mysterious Shimmer. I also would give this movie some "war" credit for the fact that everyone has a machine gun and they are essentially fighting back against the threat of potential world destruction (and some pretty freaking crazy creatures). We can just call the main threat in Annihilation a "war on science" to bump it up a few notches to 5/10.

True Story

Hollywood loves a good true story, especially if the subject of it is still alive and can gain ratings by attending the awards shows to accept a win, but unless being based on a fiction novel counts (which it does not), Annihilation gets a big 1/10 on this one.

Artistic profession

There might be nothing the Academy loves more than a story about a figure of the arts, especially if it happens to be one related to the movie business. If every movie managed to sneak one "starving artist" character into the mix, they would have to just automatically nominate everything. That is how much they love anything related to a career in media or the arts. Unfortunately, Annihilation was made before I could give this free advice and only includes characters with non-essential professions in fields like biology or psychology, and none, I repeat, none of them ever mention opening up a jazz club as an aspiration. That is a hard pass from the Academy! 1/10.

Technical achievement

Annihilation gains its most points for being technically astounding. This is also the category where I can bring up notable filmmakers that are already or will soon become Oscar darlings. Alex Garland, with only directors credits under his belt, has already made a name for himself with the incredible Ex-Machina back in 2016, and he brings his realized sci-fi vision to the screen once again here. Annihilation looks amazing, and if nothing else, that is what you will be hearing from everyone who sees it. The creature and world design is particular and breathtaking, with a blend of horrifying practical work and good (but at times obvious) CGI. The score by Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury is memorable and plays a huge part alongside the actual story. Annihilation gets an 8/10 for being purely different and visually surprising.

Final rating

Annihilation earns a final scoring of 4/10 (rounded up as I am not a fan of partial points). While it might show up come awards season in the technical departments like its predecessor Ex-Machina, the chances of a Best Picture nomination or any real Oscar buzz are very slim.