Sci-Fi Film Had Me Bawling Like a Baby

Rating: 9/10 (29 November 2016)

Some of the best science fiction films are those that aren't actually what they appear to be about, but rather use a sci-fi premise to explore the human condition right here on Earth. "Arrival" is one such film. Though an encounter with aliens and humankind's reaction to it sets off the action in this film and comprises the bulk of its story, it's the human characters that we learn and care about.
Amy Adams is one of those human characters, and she gives an absolutely lovely performance, one that totally carries the film. She gets no histrionics or big Oscar scenes, yet days after the movie I was still thinking about her and the journey her character goes on. It's hard to discuss the plot of "Arrival" without giving too much away to those who haven't seen it, and this is one movie that will be most effective if you know very little about it. It's got what I suppose would be considered a plot twist, but it's not one in the traditional, gimmicky sense. It grows organically from the plot, and by the time it comes you realize that it's not actually a twist but really what the movie's been about the whole time.
The question "Arrival" asks is: "If you had your life to do over again, good and bad, and didn't have the option of changing anything, would you?" The ending, and Adams' character's answer to that question, had me crying like a baby in the movie theater.
Grade: A