Arrival (2016)

Directed by Dennis Villeneuve

Written by Eric Heisserer 

Starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker

     Ever since the beginning of the film age basically, Hollywood dramatized these movies about human interaction with extraterrestrial activity. These films always involved destruction, chaos, danger and battle. Dennis Villeneuve brings us a compelling, intelligent film about humans first contact with these strange "visitors" on our planet. 

     Shortly after the film begins we see the arrival of mysterious ships which hover just above the ground, in 12 random locations across the globe. No one is aware of the alien's nature, considering communication is pretty impossible when they first arrive. Are they hostile? Do they come in peace?We don't know. Soon after, Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams), a world-renowned professor of linguistics, is recruited to assist in the communication with the seven-legged foreign species. Louise is wandering around her beautiful lake house, remembering her teenage daughter she lost to cancer- when the government sends in Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker). Alongside physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), Banks begins the arduous task of deciphering the complexity of this alien language. The film expands to much greater depths in understanding the alien's (or as they call them, "heptapods") language- but to review where it goes would spoil the viewers full experience of this movie. 

     To play a character with this level of sophistication and intelligence is quite the task- but Amy Adams steps up to the plate and hits the role out of the park. Adams character is quite reserved and often sad about the memories of her deceased daughter that we always see her reminiscing over. She is an extremely intelligent linguistics professor who is given an unthinkably difficult task in understanding this never before encountered language. What makes her character so real however, is that she's no icon of calmness and stability. We often see her hands trembling and her shaky breath over entering the ship. This is by far one of Adam's most complex roles, and to say she was snubbed of an Oscar nomination for this role is the understatement of the year. Renner and Whitaker give solid performances which strongly compliment Adams. 

     This science fiction film provides for a deep first encounter story with these aliens. We get to see the way in which the world reacts to their arrival. What made this movie so compelling was the lengths Dr. Banks goes to to understand the heptapods language. Banks is forced to look deep into her own soul to discover the mystery behind why the aliens are here- and what do they want? This is an amazing journey worth taking- especially for the ending. A very powerful film. One of Adams best roles, and one of my favorite films of 2016. 

I give Arrival a...

8/10