ARRIVAL is the Feminist Sci-Fi Mind-Bender We've Been Waiting For (Review)

Amy Adams is one of the best actors of our times. She plays the conflicted nun in Doubt, a displaced princess in Enchanted, the creative but silenced painter in Big Eyes, the scheming matriarch in The Master, and a searching soul in Her with equal conviction, empathy, and inner strength. Recently, the five time Academy Award nominee has been a superb character actress in a large number of diverse films, but has yet to carry a film completely on her shoulders since Enchanted. (Even in Big Eyes, her restrained performance had to compete with Christoph Waltz's obnoxious showboating.) However, that film has arrived with Arrival, a ponderous, sublime science fiction drama from current hot commodity filmmaker Denis Villenueve. Much like with his previous films Prisoners and Sicario, Villenueve takes on a genre movie and invokes it with intelligence and questions about humanity.

Arrival stars Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Tzi Ma. Adapted from the acclaimed short story "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang, the screenplay was written by Eric Heisserer (this summer's surprise horror hit Lights Out).  The cinematography was handled by Bradford Young (Selma), with editing by Oscar nominee Joe Walker (Sicario, 12 Years a Slave). The haunting score is by Oscar nominee Johann Johannsson (Sicario, The Theory of Everything).

12 mysterious alien spacecraft hover over various parts of the globe, and the US Military (among other world powers) are at a loss as to the purpose. Esteemed linguist Dr. Louise Banks (Adams) is recruited by US Army Colonel Weber (Whitaker) to help decipher the purpose of these aliens. Dr. Banks leads the team, including abrasive but intelligent theoretical physicist Dr. Ian Donnelly (Renner), to determine how to communicate with the aliens. 

To tell you more than that would be to spoil the twists and turns of the story. Villenueve stages the film like an elaborate puzzle, with the pieces slowly coming together. The story feels inevitable, like the unraveling of yarn or a long journey back home. Arrival is a beautiful, thoughtful, sensitive story, even with its potentially world-ending stakes. Similarly to his previous films Prisoners and Sicario, Villenueve takes a story that could give in to its Hollywood spectacle impulses and instead delivers a mediative human story. That's not to say his films lack suspense. Villenueve provides a good number of scenes of intensity with masterful precision and cinematic restraint.

Arrival is a story about memory, time, and loss and puts Dr. Banks right in the middle. Dr. Banks is that unique science fiction heroine whose journey is uniquely feminine, but whose gender rarely plays a role in how others perceive her. Thankfully, we don't have scenes where Dr. Banks' knowledge is questioned by male superiors. When people disagree with her, it's not because she's a woman but rather because they have opposing interests. The film's narrative and emotional core rely on Dr. Banks' choices and actions, her emotions and expertise. Dr. Banks, Louise, is an intriguing anchor for the film, a woman both lost and found, both helpless and resourceful. Keen sci-fi fans might find similarities to Jodie Foster in Contact, Sigourney Weaver in Alien, Sandra Bullock in Gravity, and maybe both Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain in Interstellar. Amy Adams joins that pantheon of great sci-fi heroines with agency and who provide a vessel in which we can navigate the mind-bending thrills of hard science-fiction.

And, oh boy, is Arrival mind-bending! My brain was working in overdrive during this movie, trying to piece together the story. Arrival seems like a great movie to rewatch, in order to see the big picture more completely. Also I think the emotional payoffs might work even better a second or third time. Ultimately this movie is about language, communication, and building compassion for beings different than ourselves. It's an important theme for a film, especially in a time where our country is dividing itself.

Cinematographer Bradford Young and composer Johan Johannsson deserve a lot of praise for their contributions to this film. Young's camerawork is appealingly mysterious, with a dark color palette and an impressive sense of scale. Johannson's music is effectively minimalist and swirling, and sets the mood of the film quite remarkably. The editing by Joe Walker is clever, giving sharp cuts to signify shifts in time and memory in the film. On a whole, the technical achievements of the film are subtle but amazingly essential for its success. Heisserer's screenplay is intelligent, and spirals into something attractively puzzling. The narrative's beats are handled with maturity and refrains from being too smug. I think the script can be a little too opaque, and the distance can be off-putting at times if I'm being completely honest. As captain of the ship, Denis Villeneuve should be praised for pulling off something so intimate but with great magnitude.

Jeremy Renner isn't an actor I'm overly fond of but he does quite good work here. Ian could have been an annoying cliche but Renner provides some warmth and levity to the film. It's also quite cool that he took on a role so completely second-fiddle to a woman. I can't say many actors in his position would do so. Forest Whitaker leads the supporting cast with authority and weariness; he's a man in a tough position trying to do the right thing. Col. Weber follows many previous sci-fi military men, but the man is a great actor and his work is always solid.

However, as we all knew, the true attraction here is Amy Adams. This is a commanding lead performance. Luminous and magnificent, Adams displays a wide range of emotions and makes acting choices that betray fear in the face of something so wonderful and courage in the face of something so unknown. Arrival is the kind of film that fans of Amy Adams--always terrific, often under appreciated--have been craving. She takes this film to its emotional heights and I cannot imagine the film without her.

Arrival is a stunning film, one that delivers on its promises. I think it could do well at the box office, with a likable star, an intriguing premise, and tight-lipped marketing. The Oscars generally don't care for science fiction, but Adams is an Oscar favorite and the widespread acclaim this movie has received is hard to ignore. Definitely it could be nominated for some technical awards, and possibly winning for Best Adapted Screenplay. I highly recommend this sophisticated thriller/drama because  it is an exciting, unique experience.

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