Arrival is
a Sci-fi film directed by Dennis Villeneuve, the 49-year-old Canadian director
behind plenty of commercial and critical success with: Enemy, Prisoners and
Sicario. Arrival follows language professor Louise Banks played by Amy Adams, and
her experiences following the spontaneous arrival of 12 mysterious extra
terrestrial ships around the world. Co-starring Jeremy Renner as scientist Ian
Donnelly who along with Adams, is assigned the task of communicating with the
aliens aboard the UFOs reminiscent of the black monolith in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001:
A Space Odyssey.
I went into
the theatre alone with a certain amount of expectation, giving this is a highly
anticipated movie from one of the most successful directors of recent years. I
must say that upon leaving the theatre I was not disappointed; as a matter of
fact, I was completely blown away. I hadn’t felt like this about a sci-fi since
Christopher Nolans Interstellar exactly two years ago. Villeneuve clearly has a
lot on his mind with Arrival, yet so elegantly portrayed his ideas with immense
care and precision. This is backed up by fantastic performances from Adams and
Renner, whose chemistry seems to fill every inch of the screen when they’re
together. Adams deserves an Oscar nod at the very least. Her nuanced
performance was hypnotic at times, as a middle aged woman facing her past,
present and even her future as the world seems to revolve solely around her.
Forrest Whitaker is part of the supporting cast as colonel Weber who offers his
best performance since The Last King of Scotland.
Like any
great Sci-fi, Arrival gives us more than just cool explosions and a pending
sense of imminent doom over destructive aliens (I’m looking at you, Resurgence).
Instead it poses some of the most important questions we can ever ask ourselves
as human beings. The moral complexity of the film is hinged on the fundamental
belief that we are stronger together. Something that resonates now as much as
it has ever done. At some points the movie had me shaking my head in disbelief
at the arrogance and stubbornness we can so easily pinpoint within human
nature. So much so that you can easily find yourself rooting for the enigmatic
floating objects in the sky. Arrival allows you to read between the lines of
its extremely potent messages and interpret them however you may without bias.
This is a powerful and difficult tool to wield as a filmmaker, and Villeneuve
does so expertly. Arrival is so emotionally engaging at the right times, whilst
also maintaining a level of grit and intelligence throughout its near 2-hour
runtime. Renner offers rare moments of wit which serve as perfectly timed
tension relief, before throwing you right back into the hornet’s nest. There were
a few moments in the middle act which felt slightly sluggish, but any slight pacing issues are quickly rectified.
Arrival is
one of the strongest movies of 2016. A colossal feat of filmmaking to be
considered as a future sci-fi classic. Confident and bold direction, strong
performances and a blissful soundtrack from Johan Johannson make up for a cinematic experience you simply shouldn't miss. Once again Villeneuve is at the top
of his game, demonstrating he is one of the best directors working today with
yet another visionary achievement. I look forward to more from him and seeing
this movie in cinemas again very soon.
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