Arrival (2016)

Arrival

By Emily Hubbard

Denis Villeneuve creates a different kind of alien invasion film that'll have you pondering life's biggest questions 

• 3.5/5 Cameras 🎥🎥🎥.5
• Directed by: Denis Villeneuve 
• Starring: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Forest Whitaker 
• Where to find it: Netflix

No Copyright Infringement Intended 

Sci-Fi accounts for a large percentage of films released in the modern age of cinema. Whether they’re about superhuman beings or extra-terrestrial visitors, audiences can’t seem to get enough of movies focused on other-worldly stories. This fact, however, has made it increasingly difficult for directors to make original content that stands out from the rest of the pack, yet it’s a feat Denis Villeneuve has managed to achieve in the form of his first venture into the genre; Arrival.

Even before seeing any footage, the premise of Arrival is intriguing, opting to mostly replace the instant violence and hostility audiences are used to seeing in alien invasion movies, instead choosing to use the protagonist’s deep sense of empathy for the creatures to make you ponder a more realistic and often overlooked question; How would we communicate with alien invaders? Arrival is based on the 1998 short story, Story of Your Life, by Ted Chiang, and follows Louise Banks (Amy Adams), a linguist, who is enlisted by the military to try to communicate with mysterious alien lifeforms after 12 spacecrafts randomly and suddenly appear on Earth.

Throughout the film, Louise’s (Amy Adams) journey is interrupted by a series of flashbacks showing her tragic past of losing her young daughter to a rare illness, in a narrative technique that adds a sense of gravitas that other films in the genre tend to lack. Additionally, the overall lack of action and violence in Arrival may come as a shock to fans of the genre, with the film instead opting for a slower pace that chooses to humanise the invaders rather than focusing on the sense of fear that they would evoke were this to happen in the real world. This slower pacing, especially during the middle section of the movie, can sometimes prove frustrating, making you almost long for the stereotypical big CGI fight scenes that Arrival is devoid of. However, the twist that the latter portion of the movie provides is incredibly well-crafted, in a way that is not only hard to see coming but is also crushingly heartbreaking, even if it is slightly ridiculous.

Packed with talented actors, Arrival sadly tends to fall short of using the majority of them effectively, particularly Jeremy Renner’s Ian Donnelly, another linguist drafted in to help, and Forest Whitaker’s Colonel Weber. Despite this, one actor Arrival does utilise to their full potential is Amy Adams. Adams gives a career-best performance in her role as the empathetic and widely intelligent Louise Baker that not only makes you question all you think you know but also makes you question why she wasn’t nominated for an Oscar for this role.

One thing Denis Villeneuve is known for, particularly with films released after Arrival such as Blade Runner 2049 and Dune, is how beautiful his films are. Working with cinematographer Bradford Young, Villeneuve creates a film that effortlessly weaves together the surreal extra-terrestrial threat with a grounded and natural colour palette. Even the simple establishing shots, and overall design, of the alien spacecrafts hovering above the ground, are striking, despite their simple design and shape.

Arrival is a Sci-Fi spectacular that, despite its slow pacing, is more interesting than its plot summary makes out. The way it diverts from the cookie-cutter mould approach that we’re so used to seeing in other films in the genre, and its requirement for audiences to think whilst they watch it may prove too much for some. For me, however, this just makes it a film well worth your time.