Arrival (2016)

Arrival is one of those deceptive films that is not about what you think it is going to be about. It will likely come as no surprise that Arrival is not your average alien's arrive movie. It's not Independence Day or even a more cerebral take like The Day The Earth Stood Still or Contact. Arrival is about something else entirely. The film uses the idea of first contact with aliens to provide a key to unlocking a completely different story.

After seeing the film I believe most would fee the title Arrival doesn't even refer to the aliens at all, but about something else.

Arrival is about our choices, our free will. It is also about language and the way culture, words, politics, affect who we are. But mostly it is a profound, moving, brave, exploration of choice. As the film's mobius strip of a story began circling back on itself, the true emotional power of the film came into focus for me and it felt like a revelation. It would have been easy to play the climax for a gotcha moment but director Villeneuve doesn't go there. Instead he opts for a quiet awakening, letting the film's message flow over you.

Villeneuve's approach is lovely yet rather understated. He apes Terrance Malick a little letting his camera float freely in space around his characters while we hear their inner thoughts, but with a more restrained narrative. Sometimes his narrative is so tight it feels a bit rushed. There are developments which just seem to come from nowhere. Never does the movie feel that the humans learn the alien language in a believable way. We are just to accept that they do. I get that's not the point of the film, but it does feel a bit jarring, especially because Villeneuve spends so much time reveling in how beautifully the alien's communicate. I felt there was a disconnect between how well Arrival's "distraction" plot was handled and how well it's actual plot was.

Amy Adams is, as she often is, truly engaging. The film's whole story centres on her and the film requires an actor with her strength. She pulls off an amazing performance which cannot be over praised. She is the lynch pin that overcomes any narrative or pacing problems. She is placed in the awkward space between the film's various tones (the militaristic themes, the intimate domestic memories, the unearthly environments) and brings them all cohesively together. It is she who makes the story of the film come together.

Arrival is a quiet little treat which provides that delicious food for thought you'll be chewing on for a while afterward. This is the sort of film to see with friends and to plan after movie drinks/snacks for discussion. Arrival is for thinkers and dreamers and for those who don't mind feeling a little melancholy.

While not perfect, Arrival is beautiful, inspiring, and disquieting. It is biting off a lot more than we expect to be chewing so be ready. But in Villeneuve and Adams' hands, the film and its story become quite manageable, digestible, while remaining profound.

Arrival
Starring: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forrest Whitaker
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Writer: Eric Heisserer