Natalie Portman explains the ending of ANNIHILATION with the cast

Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson and Gina Rodriguez give their take on the mindblowing ending of ANNIHILATION from director Alex Garland.
Perhaps Tessa sums it up best when she says the film is more a question than an answer.

[@guy8646]

The Lena at the end is the original human Lena after undergoing genetic mutation in The Shimmer. This was pretty explicit in the movie. It’s the same as the alligator with shark-like teeth and Josie turning into a plant. Lena absorbed the other woman’s tattoo and DNA from the alien she fought and killed, just like the bear absorbed human DNA (the woman’s voice and a human skull) from its kills. We clearly see that Human Lena handed Clone Lena the grenade. There was no cutaway to suggest they ever switched places. We actually see the clone turn back into its metallic form when it’s on fire. There is no question that Clone Lena died. Kane at the end is the clone version formed from a sample of original Kane’s DNA, which was used as a physical building block and not to create an emotional and psychological roadmap for how to behave like Original Kane/a human. They both recognized this at the end - that they are somewhat similar creatures formed at opposite ends of the same process - and show compassion to one another. But Lena is still operating with her original human emotions and psychological complexities, so she is not exactly like Clone Kane. She is a higher-level version of her human self and the clone beings, which I think is the point of the movie. Although cancer was a consistent theme throughout the movie, I thought it was also presenting themes on evolution - genetic mutation, which occurs naturally in nature already, survival of the fittest (Lena’s survival) and the struggles of evolution/nature to find its purest form - one white deer evolved into a beautiful combination of deer and plant life while the second was an ugly, skeletal deer with plant life, suggesting that the DNA mixing was working out its kinks toward something functional, successful and beautiful. I think the ending is meant to suggest that Lena and Clone Kane only have each other and that we should expect them to reproduce, slowly spreading alien genes/genetic mutation throughout the planet that will force an evolution of the human species on earth until all original humanity is erased. The Shimmer itself is neither malicious nor well-meaning. It simple acts like a cancer cell in taking over existing cells and mutating them with cells around them. The meteor crash itself was simply an act of happenstance that delivered the alien cells that metastasized like cancer cells. In a way, the meteor and Shimmer could serve as an explanation for how life originally developed on earth (and other planets), and was simply happening again a second time on earth. Lena touches on this at the very start when she tells her class how every cell on earth originated from the same source but somehow turned into grass, humans, etc., a mysterious process without true explanation other than “evolution over millions of years.” What I don’t understand is how the scientists didn’t test Clone Kane and Lena’s DNA, blood, etc. to know they weren’t human and then lock them up forever as guinea pigs. Even Lena saw this herself looking at her own blood under a microscope in the kitchen. Her seemingly unfettered access to Kane at the end suggested that there was no alarm among the scientists and that the couple would be allowed to go leave since The Shimmer disappeared and the military team reached the lighthouse with no issues.

[@TopRivers]

Hey guy. I agree. Well said

[@medou2161]

Great breakdown!

[@AlbyBattyTECHannel]

Thanks for this comment!

[@remindyouofwho7201]

My interpretation is that Lena DID make it out. Because it doesnt make sense that when the real Kane killed himself, it didnt make everything else explode. The doppleganger killed herself which caused the chain reaction. The reason her eyes shimmered is because even though it is the original Lena; she's been mutated by the shimmer (just like everyone else) and isn't "original" anymore.

[@supiiischokobaer]

SuperFunnyGuy Yea some kind. I think in Lenas case it is more altered DNA and in Kanes case he is really a clone of the copy.

[@divyarawat1422]

But why didn't the clone of Kane disintegrate when everything else and the shimmer did after Lena bombed her clone?

[@divyarawat1422]

@@W.0.W. 😅 Assuming that she wasn't the alien and she's telling the true story, the clone husband should also have shattered into pieces like everything else related to shimmer. So since it didn't happen, quite possible that yes she was also a clone. 😅

[@divyarawat1422]

@Chris if she is the real Lena, she appeared to have changed after coming back from the shimmer. She tells the interrogators that the alien entity didn't want to harm anyone but it was only modifying everything. She was trying to understand herself about what happened. Telling them about the clone Kane would only mean they'd destroy him, which obviously she didn't want. Second case, if she was actually the clone, well why would she tell them 😅

[@claudiamanana242]

@@divyarawat1422 I really thought that would happen i.e. King's clone would burn with the whole 'shimmer'

[@erickarredondo231]

I came clueless, watched the video and left clueless

[@beatbeast747]

Erick Nightmares in other words, you are dumb.

[@omygoditsacat]

true that. I have now more questions dan answers

[@Aryan111ize]

the flowers scene explains everything as for the ending lina share dna with the alien

[@Perthorn]

I highly suggest reading the Annihilation book from Jeff VanderMeer, even if it is saying the story bit differently, it is answering some of the questions from the movie. Shortly: The psychologist hypnotize the team few times in the story (for example to enter the Shimmer - which is why they don't remember but psychologist seems very angry - they probably even encountered something offscreen). In the end Ventress is merged with the alien lifeform (which is why she's sitting there without a face speaking with strange voice - the alien is looking in her "unfathomable mind") and she kills herself saying the hypnotic code word: "annihilation" which ejects the alien outside her body. Also the whole Shimmer is refracting everything (biological structures but even minds and memories). Even the deaths of the teams are echoes of their life: -Drug addict became so paranoid it led to her end, -Suicider had flowers growing through her cuts until she finally succumbs to it, -Alcoholic with cancer accepts her problems and her fate as she kills herself, -Mother who lost her daughter was connected with another soul again yet seeking "help" in the company of others, -Only a cheating wife who was able to kill part of herself and went through hell and back was able to return and reunite with (what she's made in the first place of) her husband.

[@rizot0ny1996]

Erick Corral bro 😂 you aren’t alone.

[@Perthorn]

I highly suggest reading the Annihilation book from Jeff VanderMeer, even if it is saying the story bit differently, it is answering some of the questions from the movie. Shortly: The psychologist hypnotize the team few times in the story (for example to enter the Shimmer - which is why they don't remember but psychologist seems very angry - they probably even encountered something offscreen). In the end Ventress is merged with the alien lifeform (which is why she's sitting there without a face speaking with strange voice - the alien is looking in her "unfathomable mind") and she kills herself saying the hypnotic code word: "annihilation" which ejects the alien outside her body. Also the whole Shimmer is refracting everything (biological structures but even minds and memories). Even the deaths of the teams are echoes of their life: -Drug addict became so paranoid it led to her end, -Suicider had flowers growing through her cuts until she finally succumbs to it, -Alcoholic with cancer accepts her problems and her fate as she kills herself, -Mother who lost her daughter was connected with another soul again yet seeking "help" in the company of others, -Only a cheating wife who was able to kill part of herself and went through hell and back was able to return and reunite with (what she's made in the first place of) her husband.

[@isntimportant]

Book 1 is ok. Book 2 is really bad, he was riding on book 1 at that point. Book 3 he was phoning it in, it's silly, and not in a good way. Book 1 was a bad Netflix series, with SOME neat elements, yet most of the neatest elements in the movie are not from the book but from an anime.

[@diehardsmokerbuddy]

I just finished reading it last night. It's really good. Hard to understand but super creepy. Have to pay attention to it very deeply.

[@KableTac]

The shimmer is an immortal cell line that is actively removing ways that it can self destruct. I don't see any flaw in this answer after what I've read. This video doesn't even come close to the details that were in the movie that explained everything. If you want to understand it for yourself research this book "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" which lena is shown to be reading near the end, and at the beginning in the narration we are told that death is nothing more than a genetic disease. As far as the ending goes and who's who... kane actually is the clone, his original was too damaged to be repaired so he died. Lena is lena, but because she came into contact with the entity at it's strongest point, her cells went under extreme alterations. Immortal cell lines, such as HeLa, are known for contaminating other cells and altering them; these are facts of science. Unfortunately what we know of immortal cell lines doesn't literally mean they are immortal in the sense that they can't die though. They are biologically immortal, meaning as long as the cells are in harmony they are sustainable indefinitely however they are still subject to disease or harm. That's the whole point of the movie. This new entity fell to the earth, a planet filled with death and disease, and the entity started altering the genetics around it creating a field of harmony. If you noticed, the alligator and bear were not harming anything that had been altered, only the destructive genetics that hadn't been altered yet. They were protecting their-selves. This entire movie was based on real science, just on a larger scale than what is currently and momentarily possible. This movie is based more on prediction than sci-fi. The name of the movie is very much relevant, and what they said repeatedly throughout the movie about it eventually consuming everything was straight forward. But the question of WHY? is a different story. It was removing genetic defects, it was creating harmony across all things. Why was it doing that? Simple, that's just what the immortal cell is programmed to do, infect and fix, to cleanse.

[@fuerzademapuche2532]

Kable ......I gotta say that yours was/is the best (and even though possibly most complex it is also the easiest to understand) answer as a whole to this awesome movie. Thanks for your input!

[@Yotna-MXD]

Damn, after reading that you get my vote, n I’ve read some intelligent explanations and breakdowns.... I think it’s a classic 👌🏽

[@metehanozturk8730]

the bear did attack the girl who said the insides of her fingers moved, sooo, i don't think you are completely right, but you are on to something.

[@pinkmullet4]

Why did the psychologist blow up then? Why did it replicate the phosphorous of the grenade and destroy itself and the lighthouse if it was designed to remove flaws? Why was the clone Kane dying if it had 'removed genetic defects' and 'created harmony'? and why did the clone immediately get better once the shimmer was destroyed?

[@jannapagaragan1133]

@@pinkmullet4 it maybe knew somehow that it's already a part of Lena already. As said that it just keeps on refracting things as if like evolving and evolving.

[@jbro8934]

One of the most lovecraftian films I've ever seen. On par with The Mist.

[@BigElly12]

The bear scene was the most unsettling part of the movie

[@El_oh7199]

ELLY GAMES super creepy for sure

[@matthewandersen7699]

That scene was so eerie!! There were a couple of other contenders too. When Natalie's getting the life pushed out of her by her doppelganger against the door. I was afraid that's when it would "enter" her. Then also going to that hole in the ground in the lighthouse. I was thinking lawd please don't let her go in there...

[@Perthorn]

For me it was the Doppelganger scene, the idea of something acting same as human, yet so different. Damn still got chills from that even writing about it.

[@MDMetalManiac]

@@matthewandersen7699 she should've sued for sexual harassment by aliens!

[@cyberdyne6188]

@@MDMetalManiac bad joke

[@WatchGeek]

I LOVED the movie, a true Sci-fi treat, and unbelievably NO SHAKING CAMERA so you can actually see what's going on 👍 The ONLY stupid decision was the first bear attack. At first I was like "oooh that's smart, sleeping up in the guard tower!" But then for some reason 2 of them decide to keep guard on the ground... EXPOSED... And not only that, but as soon as they hear something tearing thru the fence like it was nothing, instead of moving up to the guard tower, MORE of them COME DOWN, I mean come on, I wanted to run up those stairs of how scared I was of a potential creature coming my way!!

[@denaamisdaan]

Watch Geek amen

[@eemeliperala1364]

My thoughts exactly

[@MoonwolfAkirooo]

my thoughts too. the bear kinda popped up right in front of them and in the next frame he is so far away from them xD i was so confused on which spot he exactly bit her. bad scene. everything else was pretty dope.

[@1superchief2much]

In hostile situations you gotta get as much information as possible, while leaving armored positions, sometimes they can make you weak to area of effect weapons.

[@ipsnagi9442]

Not to mention the team of five women with only one having real combat experience going into a place where no one comes back from. They were probably volunteers but still, some better training or backup would've helped and they wouldn't have made those stupid decisions during the bear attack. Also, all of them should've been recording their mission so they had evidence for stuff and when things like that amnesia happened when they entered, they'd be able to see what happened. Would've probably been really interesting!

[@aglovecraft]

I understood Jennifer's hint when she says "Pay attention not only to what's around you but your own skin". ***SPOILERS*** As Lena is going through the debriefing of her expedition notice the ouroborus tatted on her left arm. Throughout the film Lena never had this ouroborus, BUT the other scientist Anya did have this tatted on her arm. What does this mean? I'm still trying to figure it out, i'm going to rewatch the film tomorrow. My current guess is that when Kane says "Am I you, are you me?" I think Lena and Kane did not come back as themselves but as all DNA in the shimmer incorporated in their body. This is further proved by the color in the Lena and Kane's eyes at the end.

[@JoeMFTorres]

Anil G wasn’t it also on the soldier from the first teams arm that was cut open?

[@aglovecraft]

Joe Torres I think I did see that but I'll keep in mind to check when I watch it again.

[@km-my4un]

Pay attention to what the tattoo on her arm was. A snake eating itself. It can mean self destruction or rebirth. I think both of those are correct.

[@heiditurner5991]

The tattoo starts to appear on Lina during the boat conversation

[@TheWelchProductions]

Kane, Lena K, L ane, ena K and L and next to each other in the English keyboard. ANE and ENA are the same letters in opposite order.

[@Misfit_Minded]

Damn clickbait title video. No answers here.

[@davidcastaneda6111]

@kshamwhizzle she doesn’t explain shot you stupid moron. It’s fucking clickbait!

[@mikeykwaak272]

@@davidcastaneda6111 XDD oh gosh, stupid people

[@tjgomez4055]

Regardless of what anyone else may say I loved the film and will see it again and again

[@jocap8705]

you are literally saying what everyone thinks.. no one is speaking bad on it like who u are referring to...

[@Nigiri3245]

Ive literally seen this film more than 12x

[@thebatman6201]

Same

[@mutableguy]

I agree

[@crimsonjedi]

Its just a bunch of cool ideas crammed into a movie with no depth. It was okay but I don't need to watch it again.

[@TikaCapricornEmpress]

Gina had me shook when she turnt up in the movie bugging out. I stopped smoking because I felt she was messing with my mind making me feel like her. Paranoid. Great acting.🙌🏾 I passed the blunt & told my friend to smoke the rest up I’m good. 😩😂

[@cill521]

SPOILERS I think the film is about the the relationship. It starts with her alone and it ends with them together. The film is their journey to reconnect. Which meant for Kane, who talks about looking to the same stars as his wife, his naïve version had to die. The fire metaphors self destruction. Where the real Lena, who has an affair, kills the naïve version. I think their travel to the lighthouse is Lena's journey to self discovery. We have the one dimensional characters, they all represent her feelings in a marriage. The angry ones, the accepting ones, the ones that want to just complete the journey. All of them in the end are distractions. The new version of Kane couldn't live while Lena's naïve version was still alive. When both naïve versions have died, the mutation disappears and the conflict solves itself. Lena's naïve version and Kane's naïve version die together. I think the film is our journey in what it takes to be with a partner that's in the end different. Anyways my words do the film short, there are still many fragments that can fit better into the entire metaphor. Recommend this film to everyone, I had a FUCKING BLAST. Wonderful work

[@petesmith3186]

Intense, intoxicating and out right awe inspiring. I started to notice things right off the bat of the film. The water. The weird feeling I had about Kane once he returned. Also, as a veteran I looked at the situation how they decided to go about entering the shimmer.. I would have just ended the movie by just going through the beach or water. Furthermore, if things were being changed at the molecular level, the moment you touched water, I would consider it a death sentence depending on the distance from the lighthouse because of all the micro organisms.. let alone thinking about the ocean and creatures freely roaming in the ocean and spreading. I never had fear like I did once I saw the hole. Then when her shimmering self I really thought it was over. How do you win against something that actually follows your every move like a mirror or a game. A few things. Has anyone watched again and looked at the tattoo on her arm? Anyone else see that the water reacted more like oil in her glass? The bear tattoo have any significance? Were the scientists being affected from the outside like being drawn in. People seemed to not fear it.. I would also have conducted tests on the edges and created a chain of people going in or at the very least had them posted right inside and fly drones or a remote vehicle... the time dilation didn’t seem to make proper sense and if you think Lena is a doppelgänger, well then would the dilation be that they were all already copied once they entered? I need to watch about 5 more times to get he full scope of what’s going on. I hope people will have input and insight

[@virginiapicker]

Don't you think, as a veteran, that any government agency endorsing this mission would - at the very least - have kept a team outside the shimmer to test comms, the ability to return through the veil before the group moved forward, etc. I'm willing to suspend disbelief in impossible situations, because that's the nature of fiction. But the way this played out kind of took me out of the movie from the moment they entered the shimmer.

[@BarakYisrael]

There is also the importance of the affair and Lena's relationship with her husband. It is reflected and made manifest in ways throughout the movie. One being in the doppelganger. Not giving a direct answer or anything because like tessa said, this film is definitely more of a question than an answer. And gina bringing out the beauty of art in that it brings you the audience inside yourself. It helps one "reflect" just how the movie is all about reflections and refractions too. Get it? There is a heavy psychological element in this film for sure. Where most comments i see people speaking about alien this and alien that lol no offense yall. Just think this film is absolutely brilliant because of it's multilayered themes, messages, and metaphors

[@Pixy335]

This film is a masterpiece. It should be better known worldwide.

[@TikaCapricornEmpress]

Watching this movie while high off the Mary Jane was one of the best feelings ever. Movie busted my brain; I’m going to look at it again for the 3rd time.

[@NYKLOGISTIK]

Shartika Wright riiiight? Was on some flight took an edible

[@aedivian]

Dont do drugs and stay in school

[@HashishFTW]

Shartika Wright check out Iorigins if you haven't seen it. And the oa series :)

[@PucaAtPlay]

Incredible when i was high

[@petesmith3186]

Shartika Wright I def was floating and pushing into my seat as I felt myself slipping into its reality. The hole was very scary at the end. Mind you I’ve been in the military too, so scared isn’t my usual feeling..

[@collegebro85]

Just saw it and without spoiling it too much can be summed up in one word: Synthesis. I’ll go into detail more from here, though... I think it is VERY important in the beginning of the film when Lena is talking about how all life comes from a single cell that multiplies over and over...what would happen if the reverse happened!? Again, in a home later in the film, the Psychologist mentions how their behavior and everything around them mimics dementia, which like cancer is the body self-destructing back to a singular cell...!!! However, with synthesis, ALL life returns back to a singular entity, so much like the line “it isn’t destroying life, it’s making something new,” this alien species is remaking our planet to either be more suitable for it or inhabit a restored planet with all our destruction wiped away without having to actually kill any of us! Mind blown 🤯

[@JoeMFTorres]

Ryan Cochran so in a sense it was a hive mind trying to encompass everything

[@josiahward4236]

Interesting. I saw it as the embodiment of evolution. What if the big bang happened again and created a place to experiment with the survival of he fittest. At the end Lena and Cane where the fittest and they became the Adam and Eve of the Organism. Obviously I think there is a billion other themes and things going on. I think you’re right too. I just found this reading to be cool.

[@moisesaguilar4835]

The shimmer refracts DNA with any organisims causing mutations within the organisims all mendelian laws and non mendelian laws of biology are broken! Leaving anything and everything to cross DNA

[@B1gBoyPants]

Moises Aguilar so my theory is that if all dna is continually mixed, eventually everything would have turned into one same organism which is a mixture of all dna on earth.

[@moisesaguilar4835]

JinJoxx2 yes but it is only inside of the shimmer you are right. I alreadt saw the movie so yea...

[@aaronkurz864]

The movie is about a gay alien.

[@starsareangels]

haha

[@JTP1982]

This comment was made by a very childish person.

[@parisjej]

😭😭😂😭🤣

[@aaronkurz864]

Only one female was sent on an exploratory mission to unknown space. The men were sexist and rude. She #Metoo-ed them and left in an escape pod, landing in a random lighthouse on an uncharted planet. There, she badly wanted to bang an Earth female, so she let loose DNA-altering technology hoping to create a hot partner. That created cool stuff, but not what she was looking for, so she lured humans to the lighthouse. First came some dude, lame. She used him to lure his tight partner. Unfortunately, the next person to arrive was too old for the alien, but she waited and finally the hot female of her dreams entered through the lighthouse doors. The alien raped Natalie Portman from behind against the door. Satisfied, the alien left her spawn on Earth and decided she must return home to protest against patriarchy.

[@dranyer0726]

Oh that explains the rainbow thingy.. hahahaha

[@mrvernik5237]

Tattoo on Kane's chest is the bear - TOO DEEP

[@SpaceMonkey261]

No way! 👀 I have to see the movie again!

[@carlos10571]

Whoa! Need to see it again.

[@dwightschrute4560]

I only noticed that after the third time seeing the movie.

[@thebatman6201]

Yeah, theres a scene where shes playing with the charging bear tattoo.. The entire bear scene is just the fight with kane she never got to resolve, because they never actually talked about it.

[@dhersam]

Bad video title. Cast all say there's no one explanation, movie is more question than answer, etc. Title says Portman explains ending. Interesting movie, interesting discussion here, just poorly titled.

[@cheqers_]

Got you to click and watch it through though

[@dhersam]

Cheqers Yeah, lying sometimes works. Congrats. Win a battle, lose the war. Now I don't trust and won't watch/follow this channel. But great point. (Sheesh.)

[@jonsimon5779]

I picked up this movie today at Walmart for $5 and I'm glad I did. It was very original and kept me on the edge of my seat. Natalie Portman is great and just about everything I've seen her in so I wasn't surprised there.

[@grassfedcharlie]

Were Lina and her husband the “single cell” that created it all? Is the end really the beginning? I think the shimmer was the only thing binding them together. The barrier was broken somehow, mixing [their] alien DNA with human DNA. Thus, all of these “impossible” scenarios (the flowers, the teeth). The way they came together at the end, when they hugged, I saw it as a re-fusion. Maybe the other characters only served as their subconscious minds protecting themselves from human DNA (killing off each one). Maybe the division between them was what was literally destroying the husband. Maybe they were literally meant to be? 😂 I’m thinking maybe their marriage was a metaphor. The scene when he returns to her after his disappearance, they were sitting at the table and their hands were seen thru the glass, zooming in on their [distorted] relationship (her affair). At the end, we see the same thing, except it’s just her hand and her wedding band, just before they come together again. It’s weird!

[@hithere1590]

Good stuff as usual Chris. Please don’t spoil it till I get there. 🤯

[@rupiter2008]

Tessa was the best with a single line - that the movie is more a question than an answer 👍

[@epperton]

Jane the jawless

[@novasrain2126]

N'haatik hahaha

[@DrRiq]

please explain

[@darkmanawenuz]

No! Watch the movie. hahaha but i can say its a good joke.

[@beatbeast747]

the bear rips her jaws out...opps SPOILERS!!!

[@mrvernik5237]

What does it means??

[@omarlucero8964]

Natalie Portman gets hotter every year

[@BIGREAP.]

Lol

[@jettcord6834]

I loved Tessa's responses in this interview.

[@BarakYisrael]

There is also the importance of the affair and Lena's relationship with her husband. It is reflected and made manifest in ways throughout the movie. One being in the doppelganger. Not giving a direct answer or anything because like tessa said, this film is definitely more of a question than an answer. And gina bringing out the beauty of art in that it brings you the audience inside yourself. It helps one "reflect" just how the movie is all about reflections and refractions too. Get it? There is a heavy psychological element in this film for sure. Where most comments i see people speaking about alien this and alien that lol no offense yall. Just think this film is absolutely brilliant because of it's multilayered themes, messages, and metaphors

[@aliservan7188]

Best scifi movie in decades, it's a masterpiece.

[@SpaceMonkey261]

@thistubeisfucked 🤣😂😂

[@andrews6517]

You're a fuckin idiot

[@targetdemographic1257]

Andrew S Why?

[@MsTrailerGuy]

It was released straight to netflix here... I wish i saw it in cinemas as the soundtrack would be make the movie so much more intense on a big sound system

[@UltraViolet666]

Absolutely loved this movie. It definitely goes in my top 10 of all time, and I still don't really understand it 😂

[@koaasst]

schizophrenia is a hard pill to swallow. i was crying at the pinnacle when i could feel the despair and anguish of the character. i wont try to explain to myself what the movie was about, but i felt it deep inside.

[@PhantomfaceStudios]

Natalie Portman is a remarkably enchanting speaker

[@brianhill8974]

Where is the EXPLANATION in this interview??

[@WolfGodadrianbon]

i can imagine a second one

[@bopeep268]

After watching several explanations I appreciate this movie much more.

[@randomfools808]

Echoes? Huh, really? Now I'm thinking about where those were. Loved this film though.

[@megamoviez]

Randomfools Loved it too! It's my favorite film of the year so far!

[@RacialDialTone]

The house in particular is a big echo.

[@singlemanreads.6763]

Randomfools the ouroborus tattoo on several people

[@moustik76700]

I think for example the two deers were an echo. I'm thinking one of them might have been an alien just mimicking the other deer, just like the alien was mimicking Kane and Lena. Throughout the movie there's others "duplicate" like that, echoes, that could be alien replicates.

[@RacialDialTone]

Someone reminded me of Jungian psychology, and it really got me thinking about it in this film, and ego death and the like. We see the pretty deer thing, and it appears to duplicate before our very eyes, obviously at least a visual callback to the division of cells. Its duplicate steps out from behind it, and is shown to be much worse off than its counterpart. In Jungian psychology, there's the concept of the Shadow, "an unconscious aspect of the personality which the conscious ego does not identify in itself, or the entirety of the unconscious, i.e., everything of which a person is not fully conscious. In short, the shadow is the "dark side". " Reading the Wiki page on Shadow, it's eerily applicable to the film. Lena faces hers, and in that experiences an ego death, allowing her to not destroy but to create something new. In fact, that was her whole purpose going in, owing Kane, unlike the others who went in with a nothing to lose attitude. The others damn near literally merge with their shadow. Those deer, the darker one, is placed shadowing the other. As everything is refracting, the bear could very well be made up in part by the darker parts of the people who have ventured in there. Along with this, when Lena faces the alien, rather than submitting to her self-destruction, as Kane did, she gave it to the alien, and in that her ego truly died. Jung also had some stuff to say about Ourboros (the tattoo), which ties into the Shadow: "The alchemists, who in their own way knew more about the nature of the individuation process than we moderns do, expressed this paradox through the symbol of the Ouroboros, the snake that eats its own tail. The Ouroboros has been said to have a meaning of infinity or wholeness. In the age-old image of the Ouroboros lies the thought of devouring oneself and turning oneself into a circulatory process, for it was clear to the more astute alchemists that the prima materia of the art was man himself. The Ouroboros is a dramatic symbol for the integration and assimilation of the opposite, i.e. of the shadow. This 'feed-back' process is at the same time a symbol of immortality, since it is said of the Ouroboros that he slays himself and brings himself to life, fertilizes himself and gives birth to himself. He symbolizes the One, who proceeds from the clash of opposites, and he therefore constitutes the secret of the prima materia which [...] unquestionably stems from man's unconscious." I have a very very limited understanding of Jungian psychology though, so I'm drawing this from my Wiki refresher and some light reading many years ago when going through some therapy programs. So, I could be completely stupid.

[@Oceansta]

The video should be titled Natalie Portman doesn't explain the ending of Annihilation.

[@CorvetteChristy]

Could someone explain the ending a little better. I thought Lena came out the lighthouse as herself . Then when she gets with Kane and they hug 🤔 her eyes changed.

[@KL-fz1bh]

Chrissy Forever her husband killed himself but his clone from the shimmer survive and his wife mutated in the shimmer that's why her eyes glow just like the Clone husband

[@CorvetteChristy]

Keyz Smith correct but her clone died. Unless it just happens to her slightly because she was in the shimmer. Also they stated that once they enter the shimmer, the shimmer is a part of them and she also formed that tattoo. So she did come out the shimmer so even if she did destroy the shimmer it could still be apart of her.

[@Voyher_]

Lena's DNA has been permanently altered by her time in the shimmer, and may even still be changing despite the anomaly disappearing. Ventress kind of references this earlier on by saying something like, "The person who starts this journey won't be the one finishing it". I think the eyes changing is more of a visual cue to the audience to indicate how she's been tainted by the experience, rather than something that is literally taking place. It also could be representational of how being partially alien beings have ultimately united her and her husband, in spite of her affair and even his death.

[@Bob-zx7io]

Or maybe she is the clone and is just lying about what happened in the lighthouse.

[@CorvetteChristy]

eleskimo okay thanks

[@pulpfiction107]

Bear scene didnt let me sleep👀. It was scary

[@lostfear2322]

I do believe this movie has many interpretations. Each one I hear sounds pretty interesting and fits almost perfectly. I can’t help but feel like this movie is about the psychedelic experience. I’m no stranger to DMT and other psychedelics. I’m sure anyone who’s taken psychedelics will certainly agree that this movies alien, especially in its orb form looked just like a DMT fractal. Even the plot had some psychedelic undertones. Portman’s character having to reflect on herself, going on a journey of ego death, being stripped down, body and mind. Basically dying and coming out the other end better understanding herself and what she needs to do. Obviously the tone of this being psychedelic is very glossed over by the cancer metaphor’s, the other characters narratives and the aliens motivations if any. However I think it’s still interesting to see directors use this sort of imagery in movies. I watched it with my dad and even he said the movie felt like a bad trip that never ends. 😂

[@Quantumoon]

The fractals you see when you trip are you comprehending your own dna on some level, and the movie is all about dna, the movie has nothing to do with psychedelics really, they just hit on the same idea

[@Worrell057]

I would ask the actors what they thought about the finished movie, as opposed to what they experienced during filming. How different was the end product than what they imagined it would be.

[@supiiischokobaer]

I believe this movie was about ANNIHILATION of an alien species which escaped to a different planet (Earth) to start a new life. The sphere (The Shimmer) was it's own environment to survive but unwillingly the sphere changed every DNA within it. In the end it tried to escape the sphere in a new form and this is why Kane let it escape. Lena however wanted to survive and escaped herself, but with changed DNA by the sphere. So in other words Kane was an original alien copy and Lena was just somekind of hybrid (more mixed the closer she came in touch with the alien in the lighthouse). So right now she could possibly even give birth to an alien baby with Kane, because her DNA has changed. The only missing detail is why Kane suffered outside the sphere and suddenly it stopped after the sphere got destroyed/disappeared?

[@Jamestruin]

Anyone else see the clone as a Gabriel character and the door scene as an impregnation for some sort of alien second coming?

[@GeneralPadron]

All I know is, that this film was the most disturbing I have seen in a long time.

[@mireya762002]

Dang Gina wouldn’t let Tessa get in a singe sentence! Tacky!!

[@jowalker7248]

Chloe-Belle's Cottage literally just came to the comment section to see if anyone else noticed lol

[@frankoceanstanaccount7126]

Well, Gina has more experience with press junkets and stuff but I have to agree with you. Or maybe they cut it off. Tessa looks stunning btw

[@preetimawale853]

I think that Lena never made it out of the light house.. she must have changed during the fight when she has a blackout.. cause Lena's doppelganger didn't have to go inside the core of the light house while she's on fire, she could have left easily but she didn't... Even when she didn't have her true form but she subconsciously remembered to destroy the shimmer.. The way doppelganger looks it's like Mercury which looks like a shinning mirror and that would explain the prism theory that it's reflects the DNA..

[@fcgfgcfg]

Wow Natalie Portman really hit the nail on the head with "echoes"

[@bringiton032]

This movie has taken my peace. 😰😰

[@WeeklyNuggetsLazarVarghese97]

when you realise the comment section is more interesting than the whole video.... *soundtrack intensifies

[@howtocookazombie]

Despite the clickbait title (neither Natalie, nor anybody else explained the ending), I don't really understand why people think that this movie has open questions about the ending or why it needs to be explained. She killed her clone but mutated heavily when she returned (like everybody else of her team, expect she's the only one who survived). He is a clone. Both events have been shown very clearly in the movie without any doubt.

[@mistadopeman]

I’m in love with this film.

[@juanfernandoserparaymond628]

what is it about the forearm "infinity" tattoo?

[@AlbertusSalvatierra]

The relentless nature of the Shimmer- or how Mother Nature always finds a way to reclaim what was once her’s. They are essentially the same thing, as that it is why the Shimmer was created, to heal the surrounding environment of wherever it may end up.

[@Top4o100]

I saw the movie yesterday. I think that this Alien Organism , created a friendly environment where it could search for a perfect host. It changed the DNA of Kane and Lina and created a perfect version of themselves and destroyed all evidence after it was done. So the new Kane and Lina can start a new generation of more evolved humanoids (next step in human evolution ). Maybe i am wrong. I guess ill know fore sure if i watch it again :)

[@BlewJ]

I loved this movie.

[@renetopeka9908]

my interpretation after i just watched yesterday was that what we have seen is a loop of the events, not sure how many times there have been but in the original event, 10 members of a team(9 skeletons placing as coordinated positions) finally come here, and only kabe got in, as the clone copy him so that he decide to make the decision to sacrifice himself cuz any issues he'd suffered as he understand shimmer would be gone if he did as he was only sole survivor from original event. actually, kane clone number one got out, have no memory and only survivor out there. so lena visited at shimmer ground where kane got cured with the guilty she has felt toward him, and decide to go in shimmer and stuck with the loops like flashback of kane mirror events. as lena feel the events was so strange but with some memories of the areas, 9 skeletons outside of tower mean there have already been 9 times lena got here and all clone outs which the loops start to rotate for clone lena. in the live events, lena number 10 decide to make the different answer so the loops end, shimmer finally gone but kane clone 1st and lena clone10th are actually aliens clone of human who feel like human with some memories broken. real kane and lena were gone for a while don't know how long it was. shimmer is lke delusion of aliens cuz we don't know what really happen. sometimes, what've we really not the actual events really happen on the screen. sorry for my bad english though i've realized movie in this way.

[@alima9353]

rene topeka I felt my brain cells annihilate just trying to understand what you were trying to say

[@AlbertusSalvatierra]

This is the story: A highly advanced race of extraterrestrials have engineered an organism that acts to heal any surrounding ecosystem. Unfortunately, the entire race died in a cataclysmic meteor shower, causing the organism they created to shatter through space. Well, a shard of the organism crashed into a lighthouse on Earth. When the organism became disturbed, it began to heal the surrounding ecosystem of all man-made toxins, creating a pristine wilderness. The surrounding humans instantly thought of this organism as hostile, so they created a government organization that specializes in the research of the organism and the phenomenon surrounding it, which is nicknamed “Shimmer” Over time, the organization sends several expeditions through the phenomenon in order to collect and conduct research on the effects that the alien organism has on Earths environment. Whenever a human enters the phenomenon, they are given a doppelgänger, who are then sent across the phenomenon and out into the unaltered world to act as a replacement, spy, and possible catalyst of further expansion. The original humans that have entered are turned into various types animals that oppose no threat to the environment. It’s pro-environmentalist symbolism.

[@jbro8934]

Natalie Portman is beauty personified.

[@jd2086]

That was the most brilliant movie of this era! Love it entirely, everything is perfectly done, scientifically and metaphysical ways, even deeply philosophical, damn love it, how people can't understand the movie? Is literally and visually self explanatory, now one of my favorites all times

[@RobertBenziGreen]

Great casting job 👍🏽

[@chris_official4630]

As lena is overwhelmed to see Kane at the start of the movie, he barely has any memory of her. At the end of the movie, we learn that the real Kane took his life with the grenade, after ordering an exact copy of him to find Lena. Thus what actually happened was the real Kane entered into the lighthouse, saw the same eye/metallic figure and presumably also got into a brawl with it while it was mimicking his moves. After countless failed attempts he saw no way out, and thought he was losing his mind, as the shimmer influenced his thoughts and as the now exact copy of himself stood in front of him hence the question "If im not Kane, what am I?". Becoming entangled with the metallic figure, he gave over his identity (as we learned from Lena's experience when she touched the figure)and presumably enough of his memories for the fake Kane to find Lena. The fake Kane is a part of the shimmer and has no problem finding his way out of the shimmer (the metallic figure can teleport as seen when Lena runs away from it at first, thus the Fake Kane can aswell). Real Lena defeats the shimmer and is interrogated. The tattoo on her arm shows clear mutations derived from previous people in the shimmer and aswell as a mutating effect with the water on the glass. When she goes to see Kane she asks him whether he is the real Kane (which she already has the answer to) and his reply " I dont think so" settles it. Thus, this fake Kane being the metallic figure which Kane fought and gave his form, is not dead because it was outside of the shimmer when Lena destroyed all the cells. This means he is essentially another copy of the figure Lena already fought, and has the ability to take on another form. When he embraces her, he infects her and her eyes start to glow in the same way the thing glowed in the lighthouse

[@MDMetalManiac]

WATER IN THE GLASS MUTATED, TOTALLY! YEAH

[@94OaxEm]

So why was lena cheating on kane ??

[@Lex-hm9xg]

It’s a play on our ego in terms of its ties to reality....but for the movie, she comes back different, but also the same....her ego wants to identify as the same person, but her being encompasses her experience (referring to the explanation the physicist gave of the area and its effects)

[@mikechan231]

Let’s be honest, the movie was absent of a coherent ending . There’s a theme in movies these days of making endings devoid of resolution. That’s fine for stories where a specific details aren’t need to resolve the story but that’s not the case with this movie and most sci-fi, I would argue. I’m tired of fake-good stories that seem interesting but only because the story tellers don’t resolve the ending. Instead they do some avant garde BS and say it’s “up to interpretation”. No stupid, it’s your story-explain it, finish it!

[@Secular-Hebrew]

I recommend reading the book, it's a really good book, the movie is confusing AF if you don't have the book background

[@rustomire]

ending explained with toys kzbin.info/www/bejne/epbZn3iQrqhmh8k

[@redmed10]

Does the film as a whole and the film ending make more sense if lena's eye did not glow like kane's at end of film?

[@AlbertusSalvatierra]

Well, in a way. The movie really isn’t like the books- so here is my interpretation of what happened and what could happen. So, the Biologist and her husband’s doppelgänger are now walking Shimmer’s. The movement in their eyes and the cup of water reflect that. They are a type of catalyst for the formation of new Shimmers, forcing the entire agency to undergo a massive quarantine.

[@godgod3586]

I hope I wish this movie will get Oscar

[@MediaSugar]

Why did Gina and Nat have the same tattoos and also the water cup scene with her and Oscar Isaac is an example of the echoes. She means foreshadowing in a way

[@yourenviousenemy]

When a person that saw the film asks you to tell them wtf the movie is about it's a bad sign

[@terrasprite]

Certainly material for a sequel, even though the interpretations of this film give us enough satisfaction. However, there is no way the research centre wouldn't have tested and tracked Kane's and Lena's DNA, blood cells etc and noted the change. Researchers would have had their own hypotheses on what may have happened too. Further, Kane and Lena were in an isolation ward in the last scene so there is reason to suggest the research centre is not done with them yet. I just hope any sequel doesn't go the way of Species 2.

[@AlbertusSalvatierra]

There won’t be a sequel, unfortunately. The biologist was supposed to stay in the Shimmer, and her doppelgänger was supposed to leave and got back to the government agency, but she wouldn’t be the main character. The new director of the organization would be the main character.

[@SlickMajestic]

The movie is about undead bears spawned from assimilated chaos thriving to conquer earthly dominions. Nothing more. Nothing less. "Heeellpppp meeeee!"

[@bkr1895]

I think the film was at least partially inspired by the Ito novel Uzumaki

[@simmsquee]

I think a question people should ask themselves is if it really matters by the end if the surviving Lena is the original one or not, aren't they both the "real" and "fake" one either way?

[@joshrodriguez6023]

What people need to understand about this movie is that it's NOTHING like the book, and that's why it's SO BRILLIANT! Yes, the concept of the book is there, but I'd say maybe about 15%of the actual book content made it into the film. When I saw the movie, at the end I thought: "NOW YOU'RE GONNA PUT THIS IN THERE...?" I just had this feeling of everything being left and right and up and down. I can't even describe how complicated this film is. The ending is the beginning of the book, and the ending of the book simply never happened. Lena, or THE BIOLOGIST, never returned home to her husband in Annihilation. And this Alien thing... is not an alien, but something so much more complex than life itself. I'm rambling now haha It's just SO BEAUTIFULLY made into its own film with a few hints of the book here and there.

[@samsalamander8147]

Anyone ever heard Natalie Portman rap its awesome she could be the next gangsta rapper

[@dmmusicart8]

im now more confused after watching this interview

[@cardquest2118]

The movie is definitely about ego death

[@SeanRyno]

You're all wrong. This is a story about a grieving woman, who loses her mind looking for answers, until she hallucinates a narrative that is so much more comfortable than the truth, that she commits to it. Much like in the movie "Shutter Island". There are clues.

[@WoshiBryant]

YES. No-self and Ego death, I made a whole video about that in my channel

[@Miss.Anthropic.]

I had a similar perceived perception about this movie as well.

[@SuperSatana69]

I felt the same way while watching it. It reminded me of a couple of dmt experiences I had.

[@Bloodofmyshxdow]

Guys, I think Card Quest is talking about the Ego planet from marvel comics

[@CarlosFontes]

I loved the movie. Then I read the books. This film is really inspired by the book and COMPLETELY does it's own thing. I love the film and I love the books, but when I put them next to each other, the film disappoints as an adaptation. It's more a remix.

[@victorcastaneda5243]

The interviewer sneaky

[@KGrasso89]

What I take away from this video is there is no explanation of the ending.. they intentionally made it make no sense at all so ppl like us will debate it. Stupid and also the reason Paramount wanted the creator to make a different ending.

[@21innocentbystander]

Is this what you really took away?

[@josephwambwa2980]

This film is odd... too many unanswered questions... why does Josie turn into a plant? Was it because she gave up? ... and why don't the rest turn? Same with the duplicates... why were some animals duplicated and not all? (I have a theory to that one actually, probably did have duplicates but they killed each other due to their instincts... but then mutated? The croc and bear). Hmmm... Plus the ending, only reason i think the clone Lena is the one that got out (apart from the eyes) is when the one left in the light house is on fire, she goes to her husband and seems to hold his head then proceeds to spread the fire around... why didn't they both ran out as they were mimicking each other? Good film overall though, would recommend it

[@AlbertusSalvatierra]

Every human being who enters the Shimmer will inevitably turn into some sort of animal, such as a bear or flower. Those who do will inevitably have doppelgängers, who are sent across the Shimmer for reasons unknown. Either to act as a sort of spy or to further the expansion of the Shimmer. For the ending, the biologist murders her doppelgänger before she would change, which is why she remains mostly human after she crosses the Shimmer.

[@mwamengele]

She said she could help him, and walaa! she did

[@jonathancortez7145]

Area x is getting into everything and remaking the physical world into different life. Area x is playing with building blocks like someone plays with Legos. Thats my attempt at explaining the story and movie.

[@sammariofan]

Basically they came out as "one" their DNA has everything in it, and their babies are going to have it all. What i got out of this film is that we are already like that, we contain multitudes and the universe is our reflection, in a sense we are connected with everything

[@guaguancos.montunodcubop8923]

Samescape .."connected with everything or everything is connected"......bro read about string theory or 0 point field n also The Akashic Records. trust me my nigga u will really dig that shit.check it out

[@weisssunday2545]

I didn't pick up on, the pre discovered affair that caused Cain to deploy a day early, and go on a suicide mission. Now I get Natalie Portman's character grounded herself to her home untill her husband returned to re connect.

[@weisssunday2545]

As weird as it sounds it's reminds me of the song, find your way back to her heart.

[@joelgabriel7066]

This Movie is incredible

[@nico74321]

Aw I always thought matrix was hard, this is beyond another realm

[@gameruprise9914]

Matrix is easy, simulation theory pretty much. Nothing is real except your mind. Your mind makes things real. Therefore your consciousness is being simulated into an environment that isn't real, but is programmed to feel like it is real. Our dreams are somewhat similar to this experience. Now as of this movie, from what I'm getting one of the scientist said the shimmer refracts DNA altering it. When Lena touched the supposive Alien her DNA was refracted. Meaning the self mirrored was now the original while the original was altered to be the Alien. So the original Lena died, and the moral of the story is a very shitty ending with no point to the movie what so ever. Does not relate with reality. It's more of lets make a bogus movie and have people get confused and try to solve this non-sense of a movie that has literally no story line to it other than a big wave of bullshit with more bullshit inside the wave on top of lacking bullshit of dementia through out the whole movie because now your the story creator not them.

[@MetalHendrix.]

“Its some kind of Dark Matter based Life Form that unintentionally affected our atmosphere just trying to survive. Until it found a way to mimic, blend in and coexist and become The Next Evolution of Humankind”.

[@ghostwarrior5540]

METALHENDRIX1 yoo who said this ...its brilliant and disturbing at same time regarding CERN Mandela efect and Dark matter

[@Teliomenidis]

explanation-noun [ C or U ] UK ​ -the details or reasons that someone gives to make something clear or easy to understand

[@redmed10]

How did Kane "clone" get back to his house when he doesn't seem to know anything about the real kane's past life.

[@carleynorthcoast1915]

It's not the intended meaning but what is actually conveyed to the audience. If this movie was meant to express something about the human condition it would be that Hollywood isn't able to make movies that express something about the human condition.

[@PeterPan-og6cm]

The alien and Lena exchanged bodies in the cave at the end she touched her husband face saying her goodbye then touches the wall realizing that

[@eden20111]

Damn Gina nailed it! 😂😂

[@qcfgaminginc5427]

One thing I noticed The carnivore animals were mutated The animals that dont kill/herbivores were duplicated

[@fithria2984]

Whoa, I didn't notice it before

[@joeomalley2835]

Ambiguity is good in films. Too many times we are spoon fed all the answers to films. This was a great film because it veered off and didn't do that.

[@paulaharrisbaca4851]

She looks so much like Andie MacDowell, especially her eyebrows. I wondered if MacDowell's daughter (remember, MacDowell was probably best known for being Bill Murray's love interest in "Groundhog Day" as well as her part in one of my favorite Robert Altman movies based on Raymond Carter's short stories, "Short Cuts"... I thought maybe it was her own kid, Rainey Qualley, playing the part in this film). It's those EYEBROWS!!! kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3TPenydlL6nd80

[@anony1984]

The end made me want to find a Alien

[@YoungBlaze]

Oh its the little girl from the professional

[@RedPilgrim.]

Natalie Portman reminds me of Millie Brown with that hairstyle.

[@TheEdzombie1968]

Review of Annihilation (2018🌱🐉🍃) by Brilliant Director Alex Garland (Ex-Machina) A "A Psychedelic Allegory of Human Tragedy" Another pessimistic thriller and at same time a grim warning for a Civilization that seems increasingly distanced from the conditions that have guaranteed the success of humanity's journey for thousands of years to the present day such as: empathy, solidarity, cooperation and, fundamentally, a sense of unity with nature and the universe based on shamanic spiritual practices. In Annihilation, the Director Alex Garland once more distills all his pessimism against us, humanity, and makes use of several resources to validate his version of the original book: first through a kind of "ecological rebellion" where nature literally decides to "annihilate" the “cancer " of the earth (the human race) through both by a complex botanical-genetic reconfiguration and by triggering a dramatic DNA mutation processes which affected all other living things around and by doing it, tries to reconfigure the whole planet. Garland´s version is a dramatic interpretation of the famous Gaia hypothesis (by James Lovelock, 1979), which claimed that the earth is a "self-regulating" living being, with fever, caused by the frantic industrial and urban activity of mankind in last 700 years and, therefore, it is about to expel these undesirable beings ... On the other hand, It is also an interesting approach to the profound "transformation" that happens with those who experience an authentic psychedelic journey (references to mushrooms, fungi and mycelia are everywhere in the movie) and once on the other side "would come across a totally different "environment" from the so called "real " world of language, culture and ideology built by human beings in the last 10,000 years to support the male centric, dominator civilization ... It is important to mention the hypothesis advocated by the psychedelic philosophy on the dissolution of ego-delusions, on the rationalizing dimension of the human psyche which underpins the culture of civilization. Such approach appears in the final scene in which Natalie Portman´s character (after an induced psychedelic trip in the interior of the magical tower) wages a desperate struggle against his own "other" (her ego) to immediately fall back on what it means to become aware of things and become a conscious being ... Such dissimulated posture of the protagonist, now “self-conscious” manifests itself throughout the film, in the cold interrogation carried out by various narrow minded scientists and their useless technological machines, unable to understand what happened (or is happening!) on the other side of the shimmer without understanding that , as Natalie's character, in order to get into the swings of things, they also would have to go through the experience of crossing the boundaries of the language / culture / ideology of the so-called "human reality" (the psychedelic experience itself). That would be a sine qua non condition for "understanding" the truth that Nature (through its own "alchemical" language) has been trying to tell us for centuries and the stoned hunter-gathered humanity that lived at 12000BC knew very well: that the transition to agriculture and its tragic corollary, the alpha dominant Technological Civilization, is an evolutionary misfortune, ultimately an error, an unwanted mutation that transformed those special primates into blind, belligerent, misguided and deluded beings with their alleged superior technological civilization and for that very reason, destined to self-annihilation.

[@amnashehzad1132]

I ALWAYS notice the echos