Arrival (2016)

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Screenplay: Eric Heisserer (based on the book by Ted Chiang)

Cast: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker

Music: Jóhann Jóhannsson

Time: 116 minutes

Bottom-line: Interesting concept, and well executed! 

Why are they here?

Denis Villeneuve’s version of Michael Crichton’s science fiction novel (and one of my all-time favourites) Sphere, is Arrival. This science fiction drama stays far away from all the clichés we usually associate with alien invasions, and in fact, turns out to be quite thought-provoking. Amy Adams plays the lead, supported by Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker.

There are days that define your story beyond your life… like the day they arrived.

A linguist, Louise Banks (Adams), is lecturing at a university one day, when twelve enormous space-crafts land across the planet. U.S Army Colonel Weber (Whitaker) asks her to join physicist Ian Donnelly (Renner), to decipher the alien language and find out their purpose. Banks and Donnelly make several trips to meet the seven-limbed alien species, and slowly get a grip on their language: not words, but just circular patterns. Banks also has several – at times disturbing – flashbacks of her daughter, who dies at an early age. As she becomes more fluent in the language, she realises the symbols are not just vocabulary, but something far more complex and mind-boggling…

 

Renner as Ian, and Adams as Louise 

I liked the idea of a psychological thriller using the concept of an alien invasion, rather than just an all-out assault film. There also innumerable similarities with the Crichton novel: the concept of a new language, circular symbols and vivid dreams. Like other Villeneuve films, there is a lot of screen time given for setting up the plot, so while the pace is a bit slow, the story is quite intriguing. One thing I still haven’t been able to figure out is the truth behind Louise’s dreams; the rest of the science in the film works out well, and in fact, gives us a lot to think about – like the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis and the causal loop.

In all the three collaborations between Villeneuve and Jóhannsson, the score has always been chilling and suspenseful; Arrival is certainly his best among the three. The visual effects were brilliant too. I was reminded a little bit of Jaws, where for most of the movie the presence of the beast was felt, even without actually seeing it; the same technique is employed here, with the heptapod aliens – most of the time they are behind a translucent barrier, but the way their presence is indicated keeps you riveted. Amy Adams’ delivers one of her best performances here. Playing the role of a grieving mother, and a linguist convincing others to listen to her theories, and ultimately being the hero of the day, she carries the role with great responsibility.

One such pattern the aliens use 

The best aspect of Arrival is that it actually focuses on science; just on the surface level, but that’s good enough. There is lot of attention given to detail, and that makes it all the more engrossing.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 94%