Thoughtful and visceral in nearly every sense, Arrival makes for a breathtaking experience

Rating: 9/10 (19 November 2016)

Arrival is far from your average science-fiction thriller. From the cinematic brilliance of director Denis Villenueve who's proved himself as a stellar filmmaking talent in 'Enemy', 'Prisoners', and 'Sicario', comes an intelligent sci-fi piece that ditches the typical special-effects action extravagant tropes in favor for some thought-provoking conceptions and mesmerizing visual storytelling. His efforts all come down to a story of extraterrestrials paying Earth a visit, a typical concept that leads you to believe the world has an full-scale invasion on their hands. This film however, is not quick to jump on that train. Instead, we are granted with a more thoughtful and emotional story focused more on the curiosity of this shocking event than an epic explosion-heavy fight between the two different species many sci-fi fanatics are often accustomed to. So this film follows Dr. Louise Banks (played by Amy Adams), a linguist professor who arrives at her class when she hears the worldwide news of a dozen alien spacepods that have landed in different locations throughout the globe leading millions of people around the world spiraling in panic and China's military preparing for war. She is soon approached by Colonol Weber (played by Forest Whitaker) who enlists her to help communicate with the aliens. Tasked alongside Ian Donnelly (played by Jeremy Renner), her mission to communicate with the extraterrestrials becomes a search for answers of a question the whole world is asking: Why are they here?
Slipping in some credible influences to earlier science-fiction outings such as Steven Spielberg's 'Close Encounters of The Third Kind' and Robert Zemeckis's 'Contact', Denis Villenueve takes on a slightly more daunting task of mixing the sci-fi genre with solid realism and cerebral narrative heft to feed the audience into something more grounded and mind-bending than a string of explosive action-set pieces. The plot sets in within the first minutes when we are introduced to see strange looking alien ships descend around the world, and the media struggles trying make sense of this occurrence as countries everywhere are consumed in uncertainty and pondering on whether to remain calm or take military action. The real tension begins however, when Amy Adams is ascended into an alien ship to come face-to-face with their aliens via window. We watch as the grotesque-looking creatures express their language through use of circular patterns created by oozing some sort of ink on the window, and the mystery Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner are investigating on these weird symbols mean in attempt to discover what their innovations are for presence on Earth. These scenes are equally breathtaking and smart to the point leaving viewers squirming with both curiosity and fear, while embracing the visual resonance that defines the film's beauty. As the story goes on and the fate of humanity rest of the characters' shoulders, Villenueve drives it on an emotional atmosphere that demands the viewers for questions and provokes fear not from what we know, but what we don't know. This all comes down to a revelation that is not destined to be impressive, but at least smart in some degree.
There is much more than the handy screenplay by Eric Heisserer that guides the film into a smart, mind-bending atmosphere, the film also boasts its visual beauty in the technical department. One of the major elements is the cinematography. Roger Deakins who flourished some dazzling cinematography in Denis Villenueve's previous outings 'Prisoners' and 'Sicario' is sadly absent from this collaboration with Villenueve. Fortunately, his place substituted by Bradley Young who demonstrated some solid camera work in 'A Most Violent Year' and 'Selma', and his fine cinematography deliver some camera work that can falls nothing short of breathtaking. Capturing long lingering shots of the alien space pod floating above the ground, Young's cinematography grants use with an electrifying (and occasionally jarring) look at the atmosphere surrounding the space pod and the sight is incredibly beautiful to look at. Furthermore, it all feels very believable enough to where you can almost feel uncertainty of the characters as they approach the mysterious sightings. Lastly, one of the astounding aspects of the film is by far Amy Adams in the lead role. She delivers incredible humanity to the character to the point of not feeling like one, but a normal human being looking for answers. If you were dazzled by what we delivered in films like 'American Hustle' or 'The Master' Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker who step foot in the supporting are both very credible here as well, even though they don't veer to far in the spotlight as lead Amy Adams.
Arrival is thoughtful science-fiction piece that blesses viewers with one of the most visceral cinematic experiences of the year, and shows director Denis Villenueve on the road to the front ranks of American filmmakers. Though the slow pace is enough to frustrate some movie goers looking for something more exciting and less busy with high-classed ideas, there is no doubt that this makes for a remarkable experience.