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Picture
Two survivors of an extinction event fall in love, but when ​a mysterious stranger arrives on their farm, the man is threatened romantically.
DRAMA/SCI-FI

Z for Zachariah ​(2015)

Directed by Craig Zobel

Written by Nissar Modi

Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Margot Robbie, Chris Pine

​Based on the novel by Robert C. O'Brien

Connor Eyzaguirre
​December 15, 2015
6/10
When a movie attempts smart storytelling, it really should commit, or at the very least tell the complete story. Z for Zachariah wants the audience to draw its own conclusions, but fails to leave enough ambiguity to draw from. Though its three leads all give fantastic performances, they are anchored by a sluggish script that donates so much time to character development, that it forgets the rest of the movie. In the wake of the nuclear holocaust that destroys civilization, three people somehow survive to end up on a farm in some sort of environmental "safe zone." As per Hollywood rules, the two men fall in love with the only woman, starting a colossal shift in character that turns three decent protagonists into thoughtless sociopaths.

I suppose the true protagonist is John Loomis, played fantastically by Chiwetel Ejiofor. Throughout the film, he makes it clear that all he cares about is survival. That is, until handsome stranger Caleb (Chris Pine, in an equally good performance) shows up with designs on Ann (Margot Robbie, in yet another good performance), the woman who saved his life. Once Caleb shows up, John's motivations for staying alive immediately become fixed on being with Ann, simply because she starts to fall for Caleb. It gets absurdly complex because these three characters need to fuel the movie fire, but for a film that spends most of its time dealing primarily with characters, you'd think it would handle a love triangle better than this.

In the end, the audience is left with a decision. Who was the real bad guy, Caleb or John? Who was Ann really in love with, Caleb or John? The film ends abruptly with too many questions, just as the film really started to get interesting. The third act could have turned it into a thriller, had the writer thought of going in that direction. Instead, we are left with what I consider to be half the story. We know why these characters fell for each other. What we fail to find out is who escaped the triangle and whether or not John really did what he did. Z for Zachariah excels in the department of good performances, but its weak script causes it to fall apart.

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