A Beautiful and Thoughtful Science Fiction Film

Rating: 8/10 (22 March 2018)

I wouldn't call anything in this film a failure. All the performances play effectively in the story, without a bad one in the bunch. The special effects combined with the cinematography is outright gorgeous. The writing is very good, and excellently plays with the premise. The characters are believable, and while occasionally minimalistic, I got enough from them to care about what happened in the story. I really can't think of anything wrong with this one.
From the start I was immediately interested, and my interest was sustained throughout the film. This is an extremely unique movie, not like many I've seen. If I had to compare this to any other film I've seen, the one I would point to would be Arrival, which happens to be one of my favorite movies. This is a slow-paced film at times, but I wasn't bored for a minute. By the time it was over I had to give myself some time to really think about what I had seen, and to really ingest it. Both of those points being things I also found when I saw Arrival. After I would come to one conclusion, it wouldn't be too long before I would arrive at a different one. I still can't safely say I'm certain about my conclusion, nor do I think I ever will be.
This kind of storytelling can be risky, not every audience member is willing to have a movie lack explicit answers. I however happen to love when a movie demands I think, and if you also do, you might just enjoy this one. This is a genuine science fiction story, and easily one of the best I've seen in recent years. I think it's great and I am definitely interested to see what Alex Garland continues to bring to the table. Please do yourself a favor, give this movie a chance.