Technically and Emotionally Beautiful

Rating: 9/10 (6 February 2018)

Arrival is a film that you have to watch more than once to take in all it's brilliant use of timing. Throughout the movie, the audience is exposed to several different scenes, taking place in the past, present, and future, and we have to puzzle together how it impacts the main character and the overall story. We are taken on a breathtaking journey as we start off in the life of a lonely linguistics professor who gets the opportunity of a lifetime to get to communicate with aliens. Director Denis Villeneuve makes the audience feel the overwhelming emotion that the characters experience through his use of imagery - from the warm, intimate flashbacks in calming scenery, to the cold and foreign environment at the army base and aboard the alien aircraft.
We are introduced to the main character, Louise, through a series of scenes about the tragic death of her daughter. Scenes like this one crop up throughout the movie and the audience is frequently reminded of why Adams's character seems to be so emotionally drained. There seems to be a disconnect between Louise's visions and what is happening in the present. We don't know why Louise is having these visions or how they shape her or the story. It is not until the truth about why she is having these visions is revealed that we understand their importance.
Flashbacks are typically used in films to give us background for a character or plot line, so that we are filled in on knowledge we would not otherwise have. The flashbacks in this film seem to have little context within the present plot of the movie, other than affecting Louise's mood in a negative way. Instead of being giving the audience the power of omniscience, we feel as though we are even further from knowing the truth than the characters are. That is, until it is revealed that Louise is just as in the dark about these visions as the audience. This reveal allows us to be thrown back in the the first person perspective of Louise as we are by her side, trying to solve this mystery together.
Another stunning use of film technique in this film was the mis-en-scène aboard the aliens' aircraft. When Louise and Ian are communicating with the aliens, the scene is framed around the window that separates aliens and humans. The aliens are caged and isolated by this frame, with the humans on the outside, looking in. Other scenes of the window show a side-by-side with Louise on one side and the aliens on the other, showing a closer connection between them than the military, or even Ian have with the aliens. Even the lack of color in the alien communication scenes play an important role, giving the ominous and mysterious feel the environment. Both the frame and black and white color scheme make the alien vessel feel separated from the outside world, as well as fully emerging the viewer into the scene.
The cut-off view of the aliens also plays an important role in the placement of the scene. Whenever Louise and Ian go up into the vessel to communicate with the aliens, they are only able to see the bottom half the aliens through the limited window space. This creates a sense of mystery, and even fear, surrounding these aliens. When Louise is later transported individually into the vessel, she is allowed inside the alien's own compartment, where she is able to see their entire bodies. By taking away the mystery, the fear also disappears, even though we see how giant these creatures are. Louise forms a closer connection to these beings as now the physical and conversational barriers have been taken away.
My only complaint from this film is that some moments can be needlessly cheesy. The love interest between Louise and Ian feels unnecessary, its only purpose being to rope in the flash forwards of Louise's daughter into the story by giving her a father, not really a connection the story needed. The purpose of the aliens being to give us a "gift" of communication so that the human race will help them later also seems a bit far fetched and feel-good. In spite of all that, neither of these aspects distracted from the overall brilliance and wonderment of the film.
There are so many things that made this movie so entertaining to watch - from the concept of the story, to the emotion of the characters, to the bewilderment that the audience experiences from start to finish. Nothing in this movie happens by accident - every scene has a purpose and is a piece of the puzzle that is not completed until the very end, and that is what makes this film such a beautifully crafted masterpiece.