Arrival Delights and Confuses

Rating: 7/10 (28 November 2016)

The answer to "Are we alone in the galaxy" has been answered in Arrival as a dozen mysterious spacecraft land in various locations across the earth. The government brings in linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) and physicist Ian Donnely (Jeremy Renner) to attempt to communicate with whatever might be inside. She and her team must find a way to discover the truth of their intentions as the world prepares for the possibility of global war.
The preview showed two different sides completely sure that their interpretation of the situation is correct. The government and military are convinced that the aliens are here with the intent to destroy while Banks believes they are not our enemy. Making contact with the aliens inside the pods is not a difficult task as they have made themselves available to the human race through an opening in the pod. Once inside, they are separated by a protective barrier, presumably due to atmospheric restraints, but they are able to see and hear each other. The humans rely on pen and paper while the aliens have a sort of squid ink technology coming from one of their appendages that form shapes. Banks is able to interpret the shapes and starts the slow process of communication that will hopefully reveal their intent. She is told they are out of time and that action must be taken. So she does, but it isn't what the military had planned. Those promoting the film promise a surprise ending that will have viewers talking for quite a while after the movie is over.
There have been plenty of alien movies throughout the years. While some portray them in a peaceful light (E.T. the Extraterrestrial, StarMan, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Cocoon), others show a very violent side to the visitors (Independence Day, Cowboys & Aliens, The War of the Worlds). Regardless of their intent, it is always a terrifyingly unknown situation and the residents of planet Earth are immediately frightened at the catastrophic possibility rather than optimistic. While Arrival isn't of the variety of blockbuster explosions that made some of the alien movies into hits, it does deliver a gripping and fascinating drama.
I'm a huge fan of Amy Adams. She is joined by Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker in what I anticipated to be a very well executed alien film on all fronts: special effects, acting, drama, original story, and intensity leaving you breathless at the end. Well, it didn't exactly leave you breathless . . . more like confused, especially if you haven't read the story on which the movie is based. I gave Arrival a very hopeful and optimistic 4 Star prediction, but I've knocked that down slightly to 3.5 stars. Much of the movie had confusing flashbacks that led to revelations of communication with the aliens. But those confusions only made me more excited to see the big wow ending we were all promised. At the end, I was even more confused as it was no longer clear if the visions Banks had were memories or premonitions. And instead of saying, "Woah, did that just happen?!" I sat there saying, "Wait, what just happened?!" I definitely need to watch this again, but I thought Adams and Renner gave wonderful performances, the special effects were perfect, it was original, but I think it missed the ball on driving the whole point home at the end with clarity. Some I've talked to have commented that the book is much more clear and would help make more sense of the movie. I'll be watching this at least one more time; and, who knows, the second time around might tip the scales to me wanting to own Arrival in my personal collection.
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