"Arrival": A "Little Green Men Land on Earth" Saga for the Thoughtful

Rating: 7/10 (6 March 2017)

"Arrival" is the story of a global alien invasion. Though this is far from the familiar fodder of "our planet is in peril from intergalactic creatures intending malice and mayhem". Instead, Director Denis Villeneuve ("Sicario") has fashioned an intriguingly different approach, one of a foreign force from the far reaches of outer space whose primary intent seems to lie in occupying and manipulating the human mind and soul.
And while it is about 25 or 30 minutes too long, the dialogue is often muddled (not counting that of the giant intruders) and several of the scenes are so dark it is a real struggle to distinguish what exactly is happening, I found "Arrival" to be a mostly creditable use of nigh on two hours of my earthly existence.
Amy Adams ("Nocturnal Animals") is quite good here as Louise Banks, a linguistics expert who is charged by the U.S. military with the monumental task of attempting to ascertain what it is that these who have trespassed against us are efforting to communicate. What she ends up learning will profoundly change her life. This discovery is viewed almost as a blessing in the context of the narrative. However I, perhaps like you, can only consider the "gift" that these space travelers have bestowed upon Ms. Banks to be nothing other than what I daresay it would represent to the balance of us.
An insidious curse.