Review of Arrival (2016) by Kaptenvideo — 09 Dec 2016

It’s the end of the world as we know it! A much discussed and sometimes feared story has come true which, honestly, always sounded a bit ridiculous to actually happen in the real world.

I am, of course, talking about this new sci-fi drama „Arrival“ where mankind is greeted by huge alien spaceships in the sky who seem to be coming in peace… wait, did you think I was referring to Trump becoming the next leader of the free world?

But yeah, these two events have a very similar plot summary so it’s only fitting that I had the chance to experience them in the very same morning.

Directed by Denis Villeneuve – the man behind „Prisoners“, mindbending „Enemy“ with Jake Gyllenhaal, „Sicario“ and currently filming „Blade Runner“ sequel –, one could expect „Arrival“ to be a thinking person’s sci-fi. And one is not wrong.

It is a 116 minute slow-burner all heavy on atmosphere and light on explosions or any quick thrills. If you wish a quick reference to any recent well-known movies, the result is a bit like Christopher Nolan’s „Interstellar“ crossed with Terrence Malick’s „The Tree of Life“. Robert Zemeckis’s „Contact“ (1997) would not be very far either, because „Arrival“ also focuses on fragile yet brave female protagonist whose quality acting is one of the main pillars carrying the whole experience. The other one would be overall atmosphere, deliciously dark and ominous. Some will like it, others will probably find it depressing and maybe a bit slow for their taste.

I haven’t read the award-winning short story by Ted Chiang that „Arrival“ is based on. Wikipedia says that the major themes explored are determinism, language and Sapir-Whorf hypothesis which sounds mighty dry and mostly sci-fi geek friendly. So it’s nice to witness movie makers adding some mainstream appeal which comes mostly in the form of Amy Adams’s great performance. She truly holds the movie together as a woman going where no-one has ever gone before. You will believe her hesitations, the tears, and also the silent determination when the going gets tough. This kind of role is tricky because of the need to play it out mostly alone, often in close-up where every detail and tone has to be clearly seen and felt. Think Matthew McConaughey's mighty turn in „Interstellar“ but decidedly less showoffish.

So it’s mostly Adams’s one-woman-show, and a quite rare chance to see her doing something memorable and worthwhile on screen. She accepts too many decorative pretty girl roles, even in more ambitious projects. The all-male supporting cast is good too, especially star players such as Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker. As stated above, I don’t know the original story but "Arrival's" message is rather spiritual and not "dry" at all. Essentially it is a reminder that mankind’s future depends heavily on our ability to understand and connect to the world, rather than attacking and overpowering everything we find foreign or downright alien. It’s a call to rise above the inflexible ego-based mind the western society so dearly values, and to find balance with our intuitive side.

Overall, „Arrival“ is a good movie although I wasn’t especially happy with the final act which seemed rushed. It felt like somebody grew impatient near the end and wanted to add something „impressive“ just in case the people were not happy with this slow-moving tale. I do not want to talk about it here in detail but, for me, it lessened some of the movie’s overall impact. Mostly because there was not enough time to play it out as properly as the stuff that had come before.

But yeah, if you are into more intelligent sci-fi and don’t prioritize explosions, „Arrival“ is good to go.