The thing about sci-fi movies, at least the ones that transcend the genre, is they allow us to put up a mirror to our society and take a good, hard look at ourselves under the darkness of a movie theater. That is surely the case with Arrival, the latest from one of the most talented up-and-coming directors working today, Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Sicario).
Eric Heisserer’s script (based on the short story Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang) is a sensational and highly cognitive stunner. It chronicles what happens to our society when a series of UFOs appear over a handful of what-appear-to-be-randomly selected sites across the world. Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams), a linguist, is employed by the U.S. military to help them communicate with the beings in the sole craft that hovers of U.S. soil in Montana. Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) is also along for the ride and asked to support and contribute to the task at hand as needed. He is the scientist/mathematician to bring a numeric reality to her discoveries and theories.
The two, along with their military escorts, make daily trips to the base of the ship and are welcomed into the ship by the alien hosts and the work begins. This is clearly an alien race that seeks to communicate with us. It immediately raises some fascinating questions about language, interpretation of dialects and how one wrong word or societal gesture could be seen as an act of aggression or worse, weakness and confusion over the unknown.
There is so much to take in with this story and that is all the plot this review will cover because if there is a film that needs to be seen without any kind of preconceived insight, it is Arrival. The latest from Villeneuve also needs to be witnessed multiple times — not only to help your deciphering of its message, themes and dramatic twists and turns, but also to simply cherish and enjoy. This is exactly the film we need to have released the Friday after a contentious and divisive election Tuesday.
See, at its root, Arrival is a film about how we as a people respond to the “arrival” of individuals that don’t look like us, don’t communicate like us, don’t talk like us and from what we can see from the outside, don’t share our values. After a presidential candidate rode into the White House based on a platform of keeping people out and building a wall to prevent foreigners from coming in, Arrival is the movie to see for our society, circa 2016.
No matter how patient it appears that Donnelly and Banks are as they work over months to try to make a connection with our guests, there is an underlying pressure to answer one simple question that will determine whether they are friend of foe: Why are you here? Other parts of the world, and even elements from within our government, are quick to call the mere presence of the aliens a threat and one that should be responded to by force before attacks are directed at us that we may not be able to respond to in kind.
Arrival is a harrowing tale that feels as much of a psychological thriller as a science fiction tale. It takes us inside the minds of all the players involved, and yes… even the aliens. It recalls Close Encounters, but it takes the themes of Steven Spielberg’s film and blows them up in a menagerie of messages that are pertinent to today’s mores, current events and sentiment concerning all that is different from what gazes back at us in the mirror.
Adams is sensational. She brings a level of tragic honesty to the role that is heartbreakingly palpable. Her sixth Oscar nomination is all but assured, and at this point in time, it is easy to see her finally grasping a bald gold man when the winners are announced in 2017.
Arrival should also serve as the breakout film for Villeneuve. The director has riveted us since his debut. But, his latest should be the one that lets a wide audience know that not only is he one of the most gifted young filmmakers working today — he may be one of the absolute best.
Grade: A+