Arrival

Dir: Denis Villeneuve

2016

*****

If you like your sci-fi (specifically alien/alien invasion/UFO/Extra Terrestrial sci-fi) on the intelligent side, then this is the film for you. If you like your sci-fi on the mindless action side, then this film could still be for you but to be fair you've had your turn, you have a hundred films to choose from, Arrival is the first of its kind and a long time coming. It is utterly thrilling though, so don't worry about that. It has more intensity than any other sci-fi I can think of but it also cuts to the chase and isn't all about long shots and atmospherics (although I do love long shots and atmospherics). All good space themed sci-fi is about puzzle solving but more than that it is about how the universe works. 2001: A Space Odyssey led the way, it gave an audience something deeper to consider but it is an opera and the hard work is almost all done for man (in the film) and the viewer, all mankind has to do (in the film) is to read the instructions and carry on (and on, and on). Intersteller, one of the best made since, is about time and how it can be perceived, it was less easy to solve but it came from a completely different perspective. Arrival, on the face of it, covers much the same ground. It deals with first contact, which takes place on our planet, and it explores the different protocols each country may have in dealing with such an event. The big question would be whether this was a friendly visit or a hostile introduction, so the first point of call would be to open a line of communication. How on earth would one do that? Now I'm the first one to admit that a film, sold as a sci-fi thriller with UFOs and aliens, which is actually about language, determinism and Linguistic relativity, doesn't initially appeal or indeed scream 'adventure'.  However, Arrival is by far the most exciting and intriguing sci-fi of its kind, or any kind for that matter, in the last few decades. It is never complicated either, the idea is totally feasible and easy to follow, although it does ask that the audience be a little more open minded than usual. It's much like Close Encounters of the Third Kind in many respects but instead of getting bogged down in the wonder of meeting intelligent life from another world (which it still covers rather beautifully), it embellishes a little more on what the five musical notes and the flashing colour lights may actually mean and the possibilities that come when communication with an advanced species becomes a reality. I love this kind of sci-fi but I am often annoyed when film makers interject pointless action sequences and unconvincing love stories to the fold and thankfully Denis Villeneuve feels the same way. He sticks to Ted Chiang's original short story 'Story of your life' and never muddies the water. The idea is simple but unique and what starts as a would-be analysis of alien life, soon becomes quite a profound look at the human race and how we function and communicate and how important language really is. I like Amy Adams but I did wonder whether she was right for the role she played. I couldn't have been more wrong for doubting her, she is perfect in her performance and utterly believable. Jeremy Renner is strong, Forest Whitaker is cleverly cast and Michael Stuhlbarg is impressive in a role I wouldn't have thought would suit him but this is very much Adams' film and all the better for it. The direction is beautiful, Villeneuve gets the balance just right. The UFO design is classical but different, a contradictory shape and form that projects the striking contrast needed for full visual impact. I really liked the alien design too, although I'm sure many are sure to disagree. The structure of the film is unlike any other in the genre, it could be compared to countless alien films but at the end of the day this is something rather special and utterly unique. I think what I like the most is that while it raises many questions, some of them subjective, it never relies on the audience to fill in the gaps. It's not at all lazy in that way, it explores ideas and provides a conclusion but without answering the impossible and without covering subjects that have been covered more than once before. It almost makes you wonder whether this is actually a sci-fi film or in fact just a sci film. Alien/space films can be clever, full of action, intrigue and mystery but few can achieve all four so effortlessly. One of the best films of 2016.