Movies like Annihilation offer hope to the Netflix cinema model after all

Despite debate arising over Netflix’s approach to content and some speaking out on its supposed anti-cinema model, the online streaming service does have its moments.

Consumers are, without question, offered a lot of choice in 2018 when it comes to television and film; as ease and convenience become a driving force when it comes to accessing new and old content alike.

Only the other week did I (at length) lament it for its cinema distribution model and, while I largely stand by my claim, movies like this year’s Annihilation prove to be the exception in a sea of mediocrity and subtle extinction of the traditional cinema experience.

Read more: What does Annihilation’s ending mean?

A positive blemish (if you can call it that) on the overwhelmingly bad cinema content churned out by the popular streaming service, it’s been a while since Netflix have offered us something to really sink our teeth into. Rather than catering to what they believe subscribers want to see and not offer them what they deserve, choosing to be a bit more ‘out there’ is arguably their best way forward.

And it’s not solely down to Alex Garlands intriguing writing and competent directing, nor does it simply hinge on Oscar-winner Natalie Portman’s strong leading performance, or even Tessa Thompson’s engaging support that makes this stand out from chaff such as Mute or The Cloverfield Paradox. No, it’s a series of very astute decisions and the freedom of experimental filmmaking that makes this a joy – and all on the small screen no less.

Sure, this type of project will never have that same visual, immersive, overpowering effect as it would on a cinema screen – and believe me, it’d look spectacular at the IMAX – but on this occasion it works in cohesion with the tools it’s given.

And in a sense the approach to the film is reflective of its ambiguous plotting – in the way that there’s an intertwining of all sorts, including talent, that fuses with and evolves over time into something organic and ultimately fluid and a pleasure to watch.

It’s not a perfect film by any means, as it possess plenty of questions without reply and a ponderous existentialism a handful of modern directors can pull off without seeming pretentious. But it also possesses a lot of the pros a Garland flick (take Ex Machina, for example) is synonymous with. Creativism and experimentalism are permitted, even encouraged, here. So when it’s in the right hands it all appears to gel rather effortlessly.

Yet were it not for Netflix I may never have ever seen this one. People with busy working weeks and social commitments may not get the chance to seek out many films in the cinema. There’s a time and money factor that often leads people to justify film piracy – something I never condone – but with Netflix as a platform the excuses dry up.

This convenience is there for users who perhaps nowadays even take that for granted. A new release film readily available 24/7 is a luxury some just expect in 2018. Eliminating the ‘piracy is the only option’ retort is certainly a positive step for cinema and home entertainment, even if it won’t stamp it out in full, Netflix are helping to lessen the crime.

Is Netflix in fact strengthening the film industry in this respect, rather than simply bringing it to a digitally-aged demise?

In the wake of its release I’ve seen a number of people on Twitter declare to their followers that they’ve watched (some more than once) and loved it. Peak times such as evenings and weekends see a number of people I follow settle down on the sofa, watch it, then discuss on social media. And for a majority of these people, they enjoyed it.

Many of these people perhaps wouldn’t have normally gone out of their way to venture to see it, so Netflix, in this instance, is opening up a new level of accessibility to a potentially new audience for the film.

There’s no way of knowing whether Annihilation would’ve flopped at the cinema or not, but if it had done so we might’ve still been ruing the day Netflix didn’t pick it up. As it is, both fans of Garland and those outside of his perceived demographic have had the chance to see his latest film on their terms while still paying for the privilege, and are then engaging with other like-minded individuals about it – and that, surely, can only be a good thing for the future of movies.

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