Because of Kangaroo

Rating: 9/10 (14 November 2016)

It is estimated that over 90% of communication is non-verbal. It is interesting to think that of the thousands of languages and tens of thousands of words we have, we're only marginally more sophisticated than Cro-Magnon-level pointing and grunting. When attempting to convey a thought, there are countless ways for things to get lost in translation. The new and thought provoking "Arrival" takes this notion and raises the stakes to such heights that a single word misunderstood could result in global catastrophe. As a dozen alien space-crafts emerge all over the globe, the threat is twofold; how do we accurately communicate with these extraterrestrial beings, and how do we trust the rest of the world's handling of these new visitors?
Sci-Fi has the potential to succeed in conjunction with any other genre. Action is easy, comedy is forgettable, drama is hit and miss, and melodrama is more miss than hit. It is therefore high praise that the guarded melodrama in "Arrival" functions successfully as it should, as a parable. The film starts with a fade-in accompanied by music that would be welcome in a Schindler's List montage. We see Louise (Amy Adams) in silhouette before we are thrown into a whirlwind of memories. Louise welcomes a baby girl, Hannah, into the world. In a matter of a few minutes Hannah is 4, then 8, then on her deathbed at 12. We accompany Louise after these events in a mental fog. She is a professor of speech and linguistics at a local University but she seems detached. Before we see her enter her classroom we hear the clapping of running feet to groups clustered around televisions. Murmurings suggest something big, but Louise is slave to routine and continues to her nearly empty classroom. When prompted to turn on the news, she gets her first glimpse of the alien spacecraft. The next day she goes to work to find not only an empty class, but vacant University.
Naturally, Louise is tapped by the government to communicate with the Montana based ship, and we begin to see the fear and immediacy employed by our own government. After the first meeting with these entities, it becomes apparent how quickly things could go wrong with even a minor slip of communication. As the fear rises, the faith in the rest of the world's competence plummets. The developments of Louise's crucial role in communicating with the aliens are something I can't spoil. The logic and brilliant examples used to guide us through this process is extraordinary.
The style of the aliens and their ships, however, is not the show stealer. The ships look somewhere between a Reese's peanut butter egg, and a rock for a hot-stone massage. The aliens themselves can best be described as a Harry Potter dementor, sitting atop a face- hugger from "Alien," all wrapped in elephant skin. The words these visitors "write" look like a language based on forgetting to use a coaster on a coffee table. The purpose for the "look" of these aliens is not visual appeal, but to illustrate exactly how foreign this species is from human.
Performances by Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker are an afterthought to the plot and protagonist. This is Louise's movie. Amy Adams has to play a role that juggles grief, fear, thrill, and urgency. This may sound like a heroine from many action films, but "Arrival" takes its time to allow us into her introspection. We feel her doubt and confusion as her perceptions of chronology and reality begin to make more and less sense simultaneously. A film that can feel this intimate on a global scale has to anchor itself on a relatable character. Her emotions are relatable, but her mind is leagues beyond. Half of what we understand, we get second-hand as she explains processes to other characters. The second half is much more profound. The endless possibilities that can be hypothesized and entertained make for a great exercise of the imagination. Just think how maddening it will be to successfully communicate these ideas to anyone else.