Our next installment in the Margot Robbie filmography watch through brings us to Z for Zachariah (2015). This is the fifth installment into her filmography that we have covered and another first time watch for me here with this one. Coming off of Suite Française, there is nowhere to go but up.
Title: Z for Zachariah
Directed by: Craig Zobel
Runtime: 1 hour 38 minutes
Watched via: streaming on Pluto TV
IMDb synopsis: In the wake of a disaster that wipes out most of civilization, two men and a young woman find themselves in an emotionally charged love triangle as the last known survivors.
The synopsis given is not entirely accurate. You are led to believe, by that synopsis, that both men and the woman survived together. This could not be further from the truth as Ann (Margot Robbie) is the only known survivor when we first meet her.
It is not until Ann is searching for wounded game that she stumbles upon John’s (Chiwetel Ejiofor) belongings that she realizes she is not alone. John mistakenly bathes in water that is contaminated upstream and Ann informs him of his error and offers to help him.
John then returns the favor by informing her that you can still pump fuel without electricity. In doing so, Ann is able to put gas in the tractor that has sat idle for a year. Having an operational tractor means less time spent harvesting crops.
Now, if you were under the impression that you were the last person on the planet and then you encountered someone of the opposite sex, it is only natural that there would be some level of attraction there (especially when those people are Margot Robbie and Chiwetel Ejiofor). And yes, that is exactly what winds up happening here.
But what would make things more complicated than just trying to survive with someone you just met? Another impending disaster? Wild animal attack? Maybe an alien attack since we are classifying this as science fiction? Nah, adding another love interest. Enter Caleb (Chris Pine) serving no other purpose than being the “other man” in the triangle.
Caleb fancies Ann, John is not about to stand for that, and tensions rise. John confronts Ann and delivers a line for the ages, “It’s fine, it’s okay. You all go be white people together, okay?” John stands firm with his “me or him” stance and ultimately, depending on how you interpret the ending, takes matters into his own hands and kills Caleb.
With a tagline of, “After the end of the world she thought she was alone. She was wrong.”, one would expect a lot more science fiction that what we were given. Instead, the focus is on a lackluster love triangle that buries any focus on religion and science fiction. I found out after watching this that it is based on a book of the same name. I have not read the book, but I can only hope that it does more than just set a love triangle in a post-apocalyptic setting.
Heather McIntosh‘s score keeps you engaged and helps to create a tension and uneasiness that lingers the entire time. The cinematography from Tim Orr is breathtaking as he makes you feel like you are alone with vast amounts of nothingness around you. But the real stars here are Margot and Chiwetel. Both turn in very subdued yet incredibly powerful performances. It is a real shame that the script did not give them more to work with. The characters are given no real motive other than “fall in love with each other” and the entire film suffers as a result.
Z for Zachariah earns an unfortunate M for Mediocre.
Have you seen Z for Zachariah (2015)? Let me know what you thought in the comments below or by reaching out on social media.
What is coming up next? Well, next up in our Margot Robbie filmography watch through, we will be staying in the year 2015 as we look at Focus. If you are like me and have not yet seen it, currently it is available to stream on Tubi.
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