The characters in this nuclear wasteland still somehow manage to look better than I do. Perhaps it's not comfort that's the reason for appearance, but capitalism.
Z for Zachariah centres only around three characters, Ann Burden (Margot Robbie), Loomis (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Caleb (Chris Pine), all of whom find each other in a love triangle in an apocalyptic hellscape where they might be the only ones left alive.
Craig Zobel's unique dystopian film has nothing to do with survival it's just the backdrop, it's more about human connection. The script has themes of religion's purpose, race and masculinity. Ann finds Loomis unknowingly bathing in radioactive water and saves him from dying. They start to form a relationship, until the hunk Caleb arrives resulting in competition. Both are distinct from each other; Loomis is an engineer, and Caleb is a miner, yet both have something to offer Ann. Loomis can provide comfort and security meanwhile Caleb can accompany her with shared religious values.
Margot Robbie perfectly sheds her Hollywood glamour to put on ragged gloves to play a farmhand. Gone are her Aussie charms and we see a Southern girl just trying to survive. She shares amazing chemistry with Pine and Ejiofor and shows how both relationships are different.
The film does feel lacking in depth and the production design seems cheaper. It all ends in an unsatisfying manner and Ann's house doesn't feel like something that belongs in a nuclear wasteland but a summer retreat. It also doesn't help that the characters don't look like they have been ravaging the earth for survival, just basic rural residents.
The characters in this nuclear wasteland still somehow manage to look better than I do. Perhaps it's not comfort that's the reason for appearance, but capitalism.
Z for Zachariah centres only around three characters, Ann Burden (Margot Robbie), Loomis (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Caleb (Chris Pine), all of whom find each other in a love triangle in an apocalyptic hellscape where they might be the only ones left alive.
Craig Zobel's unique dystopian film has nothing to do with survival it's just the backdrop, it's more about human connection. The script has themes of religion's purpose, race and masculinity. Ann finds Loomis unknowingly bathing in radioactive water and saves him from dying. They start to form a relationship, until the hunk Caleb arrives resulting in competition. Both are distinct from each other; Loomis is an engineer, and Caleb is a miner, yet both have something to offer Ann. Loomis can provide comfort and security meanwhile Caleb can accompany her with shared religious values.
Margot Robbie perfectly sheds her Hollywood glamour to put on ragged gloves to play a farmhand. Gone are her Aussie charms and we see a Southern girl just trying to survive. She shares amazing chemistry with Pine and Ejiofor and shows how both relationships are different.
The film does feel lacking in depth and the production design seems cheaper. It all ends in an unsatisfying manner and Ann's house doesn't feel like something that belongs in a nuclear wasteland but a summer retreat. It also doesn't help that the characters don't look like they have been ravaging the earth for survival, just basic rural residents.
