| My rating | IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Critics | Audience | Critics | Audience | |
| 8/10 | 81/100 | 8.1/10 | 94% | 83% |
If you’re like me and don’t like science fiction movies involving aliens, do not worry: Arrival is completely different any other film of this genre.
Directed by Denis Villeneuve, it tells the story of Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams), a linguistics professor who is hired by the US government to aid in communication with aliens who have landed on Earth in twelve different locations. Besides her, theoretical physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) is recruited by Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker) and everyone is camped near the place where the spacecraft landed in Montana.
Louise is quiet and very focused on the task she has been given: translating the language of the aliens fast enough to avoid an armed conflict. However, throughout the film we see that she struggles with some troubling memories and is visibly affected by them.
Arrival is not an action movie. In fact, it’s a drama much more focused on the behavior and development of the characters than on any other type of action (similar to Ex-Machina, for example). Credit is due to screenwriter Eric Heisserer, who adapted the story of the book written by Ted Chiang and who managed to balance the information passed to the audience in an ideal amount so that the conclusion would be shocking.
Another great asset of the film is Amy Adams, who unfortunately was not nominated for an Oscar for best actress, despite being nominated for other awards this season. Her character is reflective and somewhat lonely, and she manages to convey her agony to the audience.
The special effects also deserve to be mentioned, especially when the aliens communicate with the team.
Nominated for 8 Oscars, including Best Picture, Arrival surprises by making the audience think about deep questions related to the choices one has to make in life. It is, therefore, one of those films that generate many conversations and discussions and whose real message is much deeper than a simple alien invasion.
