Based on Robert C. O’Brien’s novel of the same name, Z for Zachariah stars Margot Robbie as Ann, a farm girl trying to live after the apocalypse with nobody around. After being alone for quite some time, she meets a fellow human by the name of John Loomis (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a civil engineer. John helps Ann around the farm and develops a liking for her. So, you could imagine the presence of another gentleman, Caleb (Chris Pine), will cause some tension.
The novel is adapted by Nissar Modi who does a commendable job here. The story isn’t particularly exciting with this reviewer being a little sick of apocalypse’s and love triangles. It’s a relatively fresh take for both genres though, and it certainly helped keep my attention.
But you could imagine that things get a little slow at times, even for a 95-minute movie. Caleb takes his sweet time meeting John and Ann, so there’s a lot of back and forth between them. Necessary for the story? Yes, but the dialogue isn’t exactly gripping and our characters don’t have a lot to do. Caleb fixed that problem, bringing some much needed excitement to the story.
At least our characters are likable and the performances behind them were solid. Margot Robbie continues to add strong performances to her new filmography, with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Chris Pine each bringing what they needed to for their characters.
Cinematographer Tim Orr deserves a mention. There are some very striking shots here, and for the interior shots at night with no electricity, he does a great job with lighting and focus.
Z for Zachariah suffers from weak pacing, but the performances and Tim Orr’s well done cinematography will keep you interested and entertained all the way through.
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