Z for Zachariah.

Z for Zachariah.

Key Cast: Margot Robbie, Chris Pine, Chiwetle Ejiofor

Director: Craig Zobel

Writer: Nissar Modi

Genre: Thriller Drama

Themes: Love, Survival, Betrayal

Release: August 2015

Box office: $118,483

Key Scene:

A key scene in the film Z for Zachariah is at the end of the film when the audience is waiting for John (Chiwetle Ejiofor)to make a massive decision. This is important as the audience isn't actually shown what happens. The focus of this part of the film is on Ann, sitting in her house by her self. The scene uses Ann's actions/emotions to fore shadow or to represent the actions of John. This is a significant part in the film as the audience is left hanging to see if the relationship between John and Ann comes to an end. Because the film emphasises on the importance between the three characters in the film, the audience does not want to see the relationships break because they need each other and they are the only hope. Most post apocalyptic style films enforce the idea that people need to stay together, so when the audience is left hanging, the audience feel the emotions of Ann who is left in the dark and things could ultimately go back to the lonely life she had before. The scene creates high tension for the audience and makes them really connect with the characters.

Key Micro-features:

An important micro-feature in this film is definitely performance. Due to there only being three characters in the film and being set in a rural run down area the performance is key to keep the audience engaged in the film. The director makes a clear point of defining the characters personalities (for example showing Ann to be kind and warm hearted and John to be intelligent and masculine) in order for the audience to understand the characters and why they make the decisions they do. The main focus of the film is the love triangle between Ann, John and Caleb. The love triangle needs to be believable so that when the equilibrium is disrupted their is a clear reason for it. If the strong connection between the characters relationship isn't clearly shown then the story line isn't as effective.

Mise-en-scene is also important because the film is set post-apocalyptic, the main location needs to reflect that, which it does. The location looks run down and abandoned which enforces the idea that Ann has been alone for quite some time, so when John arrives it is almost a miracle to her. The mise-en-scene (location) although run down is still shown to be a beautiful place as everything they know has been destroyed so, although it helps show a disaster and a catastrophe it still brings hope to the characters.

Comparables:

A similar film to Z for Zachariah is Maggie (Arnold Schwarzenegger and Abigail Breslin 2015). The film is set after a zombie breakout and focuses on the life of a father and daughter. The film is similar to Z for Zachariah because it follows the same idea that because the catastrophe has taken away the people the characters love, it makes the people they are with so much more important. Again, this explains why the people act the way they do and explain why they are willing to do the stuff they did. The Bonds between the characters in both Z for Zachariah and Maggie are very similar and are both emphasised through out the film.