Arrival

I am sensing a wonderful change in Science Fiction films.  Whereas once, popcorn entertainment like Independence Day dominated the scene, in recent years, there has been an uptick in thoughtful, human films such as Interstellar or The Martian.  The fact that the two films I just mentioned succeeded, while the idiotic Independence Day: Resurgence rightfully crashed and burned this past summer gives me hope that maybe audiences are ready for more intelligent films about other worlds.  I can only hope that the trend continues with Arrival, as it's one of the smartest and most enthralling Sci-Fi films in recent memory.

This is a moving and quietly powerful film that depicts Earth's first encounter with Alien life.  Sure, many films have done this, but what this film does is narrow its focus. Yes, we do see glimpses of how the nations of the world are handling the situation (there's talk of U.N. meetings, lootings and possible military action in response to the massive ships that have arrived on Earth), but this is a very close and intimate story mostly about a single woman, and her interactions with this interplanetary life.  The woman is Louise, played by Amy Adams in a highly effective and complex performance.  She's a Linguistics professor who once helped the government translate some possibly threatening messages from enemy nations.  Now, the military has shown up at her office to help communicate with the beings that are inhabiting the 12 crafts that have suddenly appeared all over the world.

The first ship appeared over Montana, and the rest followed quickly after.  They simply hover over the ground, and every few hours, a door at the bottom of the craft opens, inviting people inside.  Within, there is a glass wall separating the human visitors from the alien occupants, who somewhat resemble an octopus crossed with a vaguely humanoid shape.  The creatures seem to want to communicate with the human representatives that are sent inside, but they can't figure out how to reach them.  So, Louise has been called in to answer a simple question - What do the creatures want?  To help her answer this question, she is teamed up with a scientist named Ian (Jeremy Renner), and together they learn that the two aliens trying to communicate with them (whom they eventually dub "Abbot and Costello") mainly speak through sounds that resemble whale noises, and a form of writing (represented with symbols) that they can produce from a black ink-like substance from their tentacles. 

The drama in Arrival is built around whether Louise and Ian can create a way of communicating with these visitors before the nations of the world get nervous, and start using their weapons against them.  But the emotion of the film is drawn not so much from mankind's first encounter with alien life, but rather the backstory that involves a personal tragedy in Louise's life.  I will have to be vague here I'm afraid, but it is Louise's story and the random flashes of her life that generate the human drama of the film.  And when the third act reveal comes, we are not only surprised, but more emotionally invested than we were before.  That's because everything basically hinges on Louise, the discoveries she makes, and the revelations that are made.  That's what makes Adams' performance so memorable.  She brings so much depth and emotion to her character that some of the more thrilling moments are, surprisingly, outside of her scenes when she is trying to communicate with the aliens.  It's a challenging role, and she's more than up to it.  Watching her here, you're reminded of what a talent she is, and why it's terrible to see her wasted in junk like Batman v. Superman, where she has little to do.

This film marks somewhat of a change for director Denis Villeneuve, who up to know has mostly been known for intense thrillers like Prisoners and Sicario.  It's not so much the change in genre to Science Fiction that marks the difference, as that this is probably one of his more hopeful films.  The movie's ultimate message of communication spreads not only between humans and alien lifeforms, but also between rival nations of our world.  We see talks break down, and China and Russia begin to cut communication with the US about this world-wide situation.  This is all handled in a mature way that is not at all heavy-handed, nor condemning of other government powers.  Nothing is played up for melodrama, and we can understand how this kind of situation could create tensions. 

But most of all, Arrival grabs your attention almost right from the beginning, and refuses to let go.  This is an amazingly deft and level screenplay provided by Eric Heisserer (adapted from the short story "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang) that never once gets bogged down in exposition or useless information.  The movie flows perfectly, and Villeneuve's direction never once sags.  I can easily see him earning an Oscar nomination when the time comes early next year.  There's really no one element here that rises above the other.  Everything from the performances, to the cinematography, right down to the music score - Everything complements one another creating an experience we seldom get at the movies, where we feel like everything has come together.  It's obvious that the studio behind this project stayed out, and basically let Villeneuve make the movie he wanted.  Any other studio that hires him in the future would be wise to do the same, if this is any indication.

There is simply no doubt that this is one of the finest films to hit in 2016, and one that deserves to find an audience.  Provided that Interstellar and The Martian managed to do just that, and this is an even better film than those in my opinion, I'm not too worried.  This is the rare movie that is not only worth seeing, but is also worth remembering.

1 comments