Arrival
/"If you could see your whole life laid out in front of you, would you change things?"
Filmology Rating: 3.22 out of 4
Louise Banks (Amy Adams), a linguistic analyst leads a team of people into one of twelve spaceships that have landed around the world. Her job: Find out what their purpose here on Earth is, where they came from, and how they arrived. Nations all around the world are on the line of whether or not to prepare for war or try and communicate with them. As tensions rise, time runs out for Louise Banks and Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) to try and crack the alien language and try and prevent global war.
I am really liking this trend in the last few years of fantastic sci-fi films. 2014 Interstellar, 2015 The Martian and Ex Machina, and now this year we can definitely add Arrival to that list (and hopefully the movie Passengers starring Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt coming out in Dec.) What all of these films have in common are that they will all make you think and will connect with you and much more than just an entertainment level. Director Denis Villeneuve is known for making you think and feel bringing us films such as Prisoners, Enemy, Sicario, and now arrival. Once again he has delivered a powerful movie that was so much fun to watch.
Arrival is not a typical sci-fi film that will just have you kicking back in your seat and only watching for entertainment purposes. Yes Arrival is a very entertaining movie but not because it is action packed or really intense but rather will entertain you with its script, acting, directing and cinematography, and its unique story that really makes you think. This is what I loved about this movie. It really makes you reflect and say, hhhmmm…… I could actually see something like this happening one day. Arrival perfectly blends sci-fi qualities and common invasion movie techniques but offers us such a unique twist that brings current events to the table as well. Let’s give a round of applause to writer Eric Heisserer for this wonderful creation he gave us.
Adding on to how this is not a “typical” sci-fi movie is how this movie is paced. It doesn’t rush into its grand and philosophical ideas but it rather is a guide that helps reach that destination with you. Believe me, this movie does have some lofty ideas when it comes to the themes, messages, and how it delivers them but because of how this movie slowly unravels and reveals itself, it is all worth it in the end. Really the only negative thing that I could say would be that it could have focused more on other characters and their developments as well, not just Amy Adams character. While for me this wasn’t a very big issue since they weren't the main focus of the film, I could see how this film was lacking in that department.
Arrival is a must see that really makes you think, feel, and overall have a wonderful time at the movies.
Rating: See It
-Nick
2016 is a strange year for the Sci-Fi genre. Only a handful of films released early in 2016 such as “Midnight Special” and “10 Cloverfield Lane” have gained any critical success within the genre. In the wake of these films came the far less original “Independence Day: Resurgence” and 2016’s “Ghostbusters”. If a pattern exists, it would only make sense that “Arrival” would release as not only a smart piece of science-fiction, but also a pioneering one.
“Arrival” tells a conventional first contact story in an unconventional fashion. We begin by following Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams) as she prepares to teach a lecture at a university on linguistics. The lecture is prefaced by a series of flashbacks that show Louise and the tragic story of her daughter who we learn early on has passed away from some rare disease. “Arrival’s” opening minutes provide us with a great deal of insight into the life and mental state of the protagonist. Flashbacks slowly give way to a trickling of news stories that eventually turn into a flood. First contact with alien life has been made. Shortly after contact has been made, Dr. Banks is recruited by Colonel Weber (played by Forrest Whittaker) and tasked with learning how to communicate with an alien race that bears few similarities to the human race. As her character grows to understand how to communicate with the alien race classified as Heptapods, her psyche begins to unravel as memories begin to resurface in peculiar ways. With tensions rising and the clock ticking, Dr. Banks must partner with theoretical physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) to discover why the aliens have arrived.
Aside from the basic premise, “Arrival” is unlike any other sci-fi film in recent memory. Imagine a sci-fi film where instead of quickly transitioning from first contact to all-out war, the film spends essentially its entire runtime in the period of first contact. While the conditions for war are clearly laid out, “Arrival” delicately examines what it might be like to establish communication between an alien race. Film-wise, “Arrival” is essentially a one woman show that is carried wonderfully by Amy Adams. Adams perfectly embodies a talented individual who is grappling with a great number of personal demons. The special attention given to the development of Dr. Banks makes it all the more obvious how underdeveloped other central characters are. While Forrest Whittaker’s Colonel Weber seems to be more of a plot device than a character, the lack of attention given to Jeremy Renner’s Ian Donnelly is almost criminal in light of events that occur in the closing act. While the unique structure and Amy Adam’s character are essential to “Arrival”, the true success lies in the directorial handling by Denis Villeneuve.
Denis Villeneuve first broke onto the cinematic landscape with 2013s crime thriller “Prisoners.” “Prisoners” not only tapped into the considerable talents of actors Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal, but also explored darkness in a way we haven’t seen since Fincher’s “Zodiac”. Villeneuve proved to be unusually adept at maintain tension throughout the runtime of the film while also containing subject matter so dark that few filmmakers would even attempt it. While “Arrival” is somewhat lighter in tone compared to his previous films, it is still a testament to the director’s ability to maintain tension. An intelligent Sci-Fi film can be very difficult to balance. Go too far in one direction and you have a smart film that isn’t very entertaining. Go too far in the other direction, and you sacrifice an intelligent premise for the sake of cliché entertainment. Villeneuve balances the film well, and even raises it up to a near transcendent level in its closing act. Although “Arrival” isn’t for everyone, those who take their time with the film may find a rare intellectual treasure that is becoming all the rarer in our current cinematic landscape.
Rating: See It
-Tyler