Title: Arrival
Year: 2016
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Writer: Eric Heisserer
Cinematography: Bradford Young
Score: Jóhann Jóhannsson
Cast: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg
Bias: I think Villeneuve is one of the best directors of this era.
I feel like, that everything that happens comes
down to the two of us. - Dr.
Louise Banks
What would it be like if, during our lives, aliens
from distant and unknowable worlds arrived all of the sudden on the Earth? Like
the film's tag-line asks, why are they here? Director Denis Villeneuve,
along with screenwriter Eric Heisserer try to show us what might happen. The
movie tells us the story of the American team that tries to figure out what the
aliens want with humanity with the help of linguist Dr. Louise Banks (Amy
Adams) and scientist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner). Army Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker)
has to keep them as focused as they can at trying to communicate with the
aliens while the government presses on them and tension escalates.
Denis Villeneuve is a master at tension. With Sicario, he showed that he
could do moments of great tension building with lighting, music and a change in
the way the film is cut and edited. While Sicario is a very dark film in terms
of its content, Arrival succeeds at
being very different without really sacrificing the sense of tension that
Villeneuve can build.
There are two different kinds of alien movies: 1)
where the aliens are just there to kill a bunch of unsuspecting humans and then
get killed by humans; and 2) where the aliens are just a way to tell a story
about humans. This film definitely falls into the latter category and if you
were expecting the first, you were probably incredibly disappointed.
I don't really
want to give too many details because this film is something that should be
experienced with as little knowledge of it as possible. Amy Adams gives an
Academy Award worthy performance as one of the people who must figure out what
is going on. Although the film has to explain a lot of the science, it also
does a great job of showing us what is going through their heads through the
character of Dr. Banks.
The movie is
beautiful to look at, even when the color palette is subdued most of the
time, there are moments of bright color that contrast with the darker tones
that Villeneuve is very fond of. These are not purely stylistic choices, though,
as he uses them wisely in order to help with the story telling. Most of what
this film is about is explored subtly, even when there are more surface levels
of themes that should also be given consideration.
Like with Sicario, the score of the film,
composed by Jóhann Jóhannsson, is very much a part of the experience.
Along with Villeneuve's camera work, Jóhannsson's score helps to build the
tension. The soundtrack sounds like aliens would sound and how they
communicate, almost. It does a great job at not overpowering what is happening
but accentuating whenever it needs it.
It would be
impossible not to parallel some of the themes in the movie with the real world.
With Amy Adams being a surrogate to the crowds exasperation and fear at
something that might have the power to divide the country or the world. It
almost seems like Donald Trump's election and the riots caused by it were viral
marketing for this film.
This film is
layered and impressively human in its themes. You should go out and watch it,
but be weary, this is not Independence
Day.
I give this film
9 out of 10 flying spaceships.