Feeling a Part of Something outside Ourselves

Rating: 10/10 (19 February 2017)

Boy, did I need to see this! 2016 was a tough year for many reasons, both generally and personally. It's not often I watch a movie twice in a row, but after seeing 'Arrival' the first time the other night, I couldn't wait to put it on again. I've always been a huge Amy Adams fan—two of my favorite movies of hers being 'Enchanted' and 'Julie & Julia.' She's one of those rare actors who can exhibit both vulnerability and strength at the same time and break your heart in the process. And as a professor of linguistics trying to solve an impossible mystery, she is at the top of her game.
I won't recount the story here—you can watch the trailer for that. But I will point out a few things I felt made this film—nominated for eight Academy Awards at the time of this writing—brilliant. First off, the writing. The story by Ted Chiang is filled with a profound sense of human longing—a longing to connect with something bigger. Many people interpret this as a search for God in our lives, and I happen to believe that. But I think, in general, people want to feel a part of something outside ourselves. Something that gives life meaning and us a purpose. The screenplay, based on that story, captures this feeling beautifully and reinforces it throughout so that by the time you ARRIVE at the end, you can SEE.
The direction and cinematography were perfect for this kind of storytelling. Everything that happens is seen through Louise's eyes, and we unravel the mystery with her. As if things weren't difficult enough trying to decipher an alien language, she is always surrounded by strangers—army personnel and CIA operatives—whose purpose she can't fathom and who seem to be in opposition to what she's trying to accomplish. Inside the massive floating spacecraft, we lose our sense of direction. And the playing with time itself throughout is hypnotic.
Of course, any good movie has lots of conflict, which in this case is presented in the form of people's paranoia about the aliens. The armies of the world all want to know what the aliens' purpose is in coming here and, judging from their actions, they are all on a hair trigger. The director Denis Villeneuve captures this intense struggle with simplicity and clarity. And to balance things out—because not everyone in the military can be bad—we have the character of Colonel Weber, who is just trying to understand. Oh, and that soundtrack! Pay attention to the horns every time we see the aliens.
In the wrong hands, 'Arrival' could have turned into 'Independence Day.' Thank goodness cooler heads prevailed! No doubt, I will see it again.