Arrival is a thing of beauty.

Rating: 10/10 (20 February 2017)

*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Arrival is a 2016 American science fiction film directed by Denis Villeneuve and adapted by Eric Heisserer from the 1998 short story, "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang. It stars Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner,and Forest Whitaker. Amy Adams plays the role of Louise Banks- a linguist who teaches at a College. One day, twelve giant spacecrafts appear in random locations across the world spreading panic and chaos everywhere. Louise is recruited by US Army for her linguistic skills along with mathematician and theoretical physicist Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) - to attempt to decode and translate the language that the creatures inside the spacecrafts are using in order to prevent a global war. Arrival focuses on the struggle to communicate with the creatures (dubbed "Heptapods"), and what the aftermath of this could lead to should it not go to plan. The film dives into the philosophy of language and human interaction and how it can be used to communicate with extra terrestrial beings in case of first contact. Arrival is a film that is more than just about language. It shows how divided we are as a species as each nation and culture interprets the alien's language in different meanings. And from this lack of clear understanding it creates fear and paranoia that could lead to global war. But Arrival shows that despite the mystery that surrounds the unknown, the future can be just as hopeful and bright as it might be scary and we should approach it with confidence. ] Amy Adams as Louise Banks is superb and plays the role perfectly. Her performance is truly Oscar worthy in this film. As the LA Times rightly puts it, "Arrival is really Adams's film, a showcase for her ability to quietly and effectively meld intelligence, empathy and reserve." It was really surprising to see her snubbed form Oscar nominations. Renner is also solid, and accompanies Adams nicely, even if he can't help but feel woefully overshadowed. Arrival is nearly perfect in all technical aspects too. Music by Jóhann Jóhannsson is terrific and fits perfectly in the films environment. The cinematography (by Bradford Young) is breathtaking and really mesmerizes the viewer successfully acting as a perfect match to the tone of each sequence. The large pitch black objects hovering over the cities feel instantly dark and threatening, and the brief sights of the creatures we're given reveal something wholly original. In terms of technicalities and aesthetic, Arrival is a thing of beauty. Rating: 5/5
Best quote: "Despite knowing the journey and where it leads. I embrace it. And I welcome every moment of it." - Dr. Louise Banks