With the current trend average sci-fi thrillers being made almost every year, such as Interstellar, Gravity, and The Martian; all laden with the same general story, given over and over again, who wants another one? Director Denis Villeneuve (Incendies, Prisoners) seems to think people do. I was skeptical when queuing up his latest work, Arrival (2016), yet after finishing the piece and viewing it as a whole, I cannot help but appreciate how this film was ambitiously put together.
Amy Adams (American Hustle, Trouble with the Curve) gives a moving performance as Dr. Louise Banks, a linguistics expert brought to the site of an alien ‘arrival’. The United States military places her as head of a communications team. Banks is tasked with communicating directly with the beings and finding out what their purpose for visiting is.
Her and physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner - American Hustle, The Avengers) begin trying to communicate with the Heptapods. Yet, humanity’s fear begins to take hold as a few nations threaten war upon the visitors, leaving the viewer wondering if humankind will fall towards its primitive instincts and attack. All the while, Dr. Banks fights with visions of a child’s life from birth to death that seem to deeply affect her, even though she has no idea why. This aspect of the film adds to its success by giving it a human emotion to hold on too.
Unlike many of the modern Sci-Fi films out today, Villeneuve does not overuse CGI. What sets this piece apart from the rest is the the Heptapods simple and rock like oval ships. They look like giant rocks. This is important because it is more buyable but also does not force the story to be about the aliens. It brings the story down to earth by allowing for emotional conflicts to be built, making this film much more relatable.
Villeneuve also does this by employing a strong composer Jóhann Jóhannsson (Sicario, The Theory of Everything) whom won the film a 20167 Oscar award for sound editing. The score of the piece is easily the most notable aspect. From the beginning where you can only hear muted helicopters as Dr. Banks flies to the sight, to the whale-like sounds of the Heptapods. The sounds and ambiance created by Jóhannsson left me on edge at all times. The initially harsh soundtrack of the film gradually gets lighter as the film progresses; transitioning from heavy intense sounds to lighter strings being played in the background. This is done quite well. In the beginning you get very long non-complex sounds that take over your head. Towards the end the more complex string compositions are played as the audience figures out the complexity of the situation, drawing you into each scene especially towards the end.
On a scale of 1-10 I would award this piece an 8.5. Arrival forces the viewer to question what makes us what we are, and shows us the impact darkness can have on a person. In the end it teaches you, when you are walking into the unknown and fear sets in, it is the best of us that shake it off, mend what has been broken, and persevere when all others are screaming attack.