"I am producing a vaccine, and she is the main ingredient."
Let me just say, I think ‘The Walking Dead’ is a fine show,
it’s decently made, written in such a way that makes every few episodes
bearable and the ensemble cast is fairly good. It’s nothing spectacular, but I’m
not angered by its popularity as I am with other shows. However when it comes
to how it’s impacted the zombie genre as a whole, it’s the spawn of Satan. It
encourages storytellers to climb into their own rut and stay there, never
improve or expand on anything, as if the primary goal is to reach a comfort
zone and remain there for the rest of time in a monotonous state of repetitiveness.
Luckily though, one film offers an answer.
Melanie (Sennia Nanua) has grown up in a world undergoing a
zombie-like apocalypse due to a fungus known as the Ophiocordyceps
unilateralis. She lives under heavy guard for reasons that are initially
unclear, but when her home falls to the horde and she goes on the run, it
emerges that she may be the key to ending the struggle.
When a film opens with a young child being thrust out of a
bare concrete cell at gunpoint, restrained and wheeled into a class with a
dozen other children in the same position, it should be a clear sign that this
take on the zombie genre is going to be different than what we’ve come to
expect over the last few years. It harkens back to the days when genres like
this could be sued to express social commentary and real issues concerning the
nature of mankind, from Romero’s original fables that tackled racism and
consumerism Danny Boyle’s energetic revamp in the form of ’28 Days Later’.
Almost ironically, the reason ‘The Girl with All the Gifts’ evokes this
reaction from me was its ability to not retreat into the past of its own genre,
to carve out its own identity and style that in turn mark it out as one of the
best in the history genre.
Despite taking familiar fears of ravenous undead and eerie
children it spins them into a wholly fresh and excellently intelligent film.
Though narratively it follows the tropes of other post-apocalyptic pictures
(that being a small group of people joining together and embarking on a journey
of survival) the ambition of the film and the themes it explores as well as the
intrapersonal dynamic of those central characters is what makes it so
remarkable. Director Colm McCarthy uses this apocalypse as a backdrop for a claustrophobic
and deeply personal thriller that rarely shows the constraints of its very
small budget. It is only in some of the wide angle CGI shots that the illusion
is broken but they are limited in number and for the most part the focus
remains squarely on the characters who are as fascinating as the disease that
plagues the land, and both are treated with an almost ambivalent nature that
gives the film a much more grounded feel.
Another great addition is how convincing each actor is in
their role. Not only does each performance establish a distinctive and
empathetic personality but the way the role is written allows every main player
to explore hidden depth and display a clear motivation for their actions. Glenn
Close’s own steely determination, Paddy Constantine’s no nonsense type and Gemma
Arterton all make for interesting counterpoints to one another in their dynamic
and versatility. But the main emotional crux of the movie lies with Sennia
Nanua, whose performance compiles a striking mix of childlike vulnerability and
visceral savagery, and in the post-apocalyptic world she occupies it’s
difficult to state which aspect is more frightening.
At times ‘The Girl with All the Gifts’ can feel deliberately
disorienting, refusing to provide copious amounts of exposition during its
first act and refraining from revealing any hidden motivations until its final
act, and that will undoubtedly prove frustrating for some. But for those
willing to wait it can offer a film that is equally keen to tackle both the
horrific and dramatic aspects of its own story without resorting to emotional
manipulation or cheap gimmicks. It is also packed with striking visuals that
will undoubtedly feel reminiscent of the repurposed London landscape from ’28 Days
Later’ but like Danny Boyle’s film the true haunting nature of the film comes
from the characters journey of self-discovery, destabilisation and their own
potential inhumanity to one another. It is here that the film truly taps into
societal fears of warfare, imprisonment and environmental change that reaches
into our own consciousness far more than simple blood and gore, though there’s
plenty of that as well.
Challanging and compelling as well as viscerally thrilling
and complex, ‘The Girl with all the Gifts’ is a triumph of the zombie genre.
Result: 8/10
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