Delayed Reaction: Z for Zachariah

The Pitch: After the apocalypse, only pretty people survived and then they get jealous.

How I Came Into It: This one excited me from the moment I heard about it from Sundance 2015. Margot Robbie, Chiwetel Ojiofor, and Chris Pine are all actors I like, and the post-apocalyptic premise intrigued me. I didn't realize until afterwards that it was adapted from a book.

Why I Saw It: Margot Robbie is certainly a draw. I like seeing Ojiofor in meatier roles. Those two play off each other well. Robbie is so used to being alone that she doesn't know what to do when Ojiofor shows up. Ojiofor is like a beat up puppy dog the whole time. You get the feeling that he had a number of issues even before the virus wiped everyone out. Pine shows up entirely for conflict, which is needed. He's definitely the least interesting of the three in this. It's nice to see essentially a SciFi movie on such a small scale. Even though this isn't the normal genre you see there, this feels very Sundance-y.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: I often talk about how a lot of time, indie movies feel like short stories more than novels. Z for Zachariah is only about an hour and a half and the pacing is still elongated. There's not a lot to the story. It felt like it was missing something. It's a snack, not a meal.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend