When a number of mysterious alien constructs appear all over the Earth, linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is recruited to decode their language. Along with theoretical physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) and Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker), Louise works to understand the alien's language and discover their purpose in coming to Earth, while tensions around the world rise.
Arrival is a film that I've been itching to see, because every aspect of it had me excited. Slow, cerebral science fiction, a new approach to the alien invasion genre, unique visuals and ideas, an incredible cast, and Denis Villeneuve at the helm seemed like the perfect combination of elements for a fantastic film. I was right, and I never could have predicted how right I could be. This film is just amazing, and I'm not sure that there are enough positive adjectives that I can associate with it, but pretty much every one of them applies.
A standout element of the film is its style. Denis Villeneuve's dark, tense directorial aesthetic fits this film perfectly. For as many slow-moving scenes of translations as there are, there are just as many that create a palpable sense of tension, and there's always a sense of intrigue and mystery permeating throughout the film. While there is some fear and trepidation from the characters when approaching and working with the alien ships, another key emotion that the film evokes is wonder. That emotion is greatly supplemented by how the enormous scale of the film's world is portrayed. The music also contributes to the film's atmosphere greatly, mainly because of its simplicity and the unique sounds that were employed. Simplicity can also be applied to the aesthetics of the aliens, and that was used very effectively.
What really made the story work so well was the characters, all of whom were brought to life with exceptional performances. Amy Adams is the heart and soul of this film, and this is the best performance I've ever seen from her. She brings an extraordinary amount of nuance and subtlety to her character, and makes Louise clear and defined in less than a minute. Adams brings the perfect balance of wonder and pressure to Louise's journey through the film, and conveys so much even when she's just sitting and thinking. Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker, along with every other actor in the film, are fantastic as well, and portray very real, human characters. The acting is very somber and low-key, with dramatics left out.
The film is always unpredictable, and the way in which the story unfolds and evolves is fantastically done. The story appears to be very simple at first, but more and more layers start to become clear as the film goes on, and the film takes on an entirely different meaning once you can see the complete picture. Once everything fell into place and the true meaning of the film hit me, the ending was such an emotional punch to the gut that it almost brought me to tears. Aside from one moment of conflict that felt slightly forced, the film executes every element of its story perfectly.
Thematically, the film explores ideas of unification and communication. The aliens are never sources of conflict, but are forcing the world to work together, and the only real problems that arise come from a lack of communication. Even so, there's no character or group of characters who are directly established as villains. Rather, everyone outside of the core group of characters exist in shades of grey. The world co-operates, but also follows their own agendas to solve the issue, which is a very realistic portrayal of what might happen in the situation of first contact. That's another element of this film that makes it so engaging; the science isn't real, but it feels real.
The film is always unpredictable, and the way in which the story unfolds and evolves is fantastically done. The story appears to be very simple at first, but more and more layers start to become clear as the film goes on, and the film takes on an entirely different meaning once you can see the complete picture. Once everything fell into place and the true meaning of the film hit me, the ending was such an emotional punch to the gut that it almost brought me to tears. Aside from one moment of conflict that felt slightly forced, the film executes every element of its story perfectly.
Thematically, the film explores ideas of unification and communication. The aliens are never sources of conflict, but are forcing the world to work together, and the only real problems that arise come from a lack of communication. Even so, there's no character or group of characters who are directly established as villains. Rather, everyone outside of the core group of characters exist in shades of grey. The world co-operates, but also follows their own agendas to solve the issue, which is a very realistic portrayal of what might happen in the situation of first contact. That's another element of this film that makes it so engaging; the science isn't real, but it feels real.
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