I have been very interested in Alex Garland ever since I saw Ex Machina. It also helps that I got to see his interview live after that movie's screening. Its fascinating to hear a director's thoughts and to learn how much effort they put and knowledge they acquire to complete a project. It's inspiring.Annihilation did not quite affect me the way Ex Machina or a similar movie called Arrival did but this one is still an amazing movie to watch. It's less scientific and more caters to a human's internal fight to keep diving into the dungeons of self destruction when you are already broken. Natalie Portman plays a ex-Army and current cellular biology professor, Lena who is retelling her account of what happened in the extra terrestrial anomaly called "the shimmer" from which she and her husband were left the only survivors. I love this kind of storytelling technique where you see different timelines in a story but they still do not lose your interest thanks to the director's proficiency. I also love an open ending which happened in this movie. I think what I am trying to say is that my mind would be completely blown if Nolan and Garland were somehow combined into one person. Alex does a great job of introducing the stories of each of the women at the start and what caused them to embark on this mission and then he has those characters meet their demise in the same way.
The cinematographer, Rob Hardy deserves equal recognition to bring Alex's story to life. And so do the music composers, Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow.