Sci Fi Film of the Year

Rating: 8/10 (12 December 2016)

I might be a bit late to the party, but I am solipsistic enough that I feel the need to get my opinion on the record. As of writing, there are 500+ IMDb user reviews about Arrival. The reactions are binary. Arrival is a science fiction masterpiece (oft compared to either Contact, 2001, or Close Encounters)* or Arrival is dribble (boring, unintelligible). I'll address this criticism, but first I will claim that Arrival is the victim/beneficiary of high expectations. Arrival first hit theaters with 100% Fresh rating from a certain other website and currently sits within IMDb's top 100 movies. This hype polarizes responses. Fans will drift toward the critical consensus and the disappointed will be furious. Even worse, Arrival has a twist. There is no middle ground for twists. I sympathize with some of the naysayers' complaints, but I still think Arrival is the sci fi film of the year.
Arrival opens with a montage of mother and daughter. The mother is our protagonist, Louise Banks (Adams), who is a leading linguistics expert. We learn Banks is separated and her daughter Hanna is suffering from a rare disease which she succumbs to in adolescence. This death sets a tone of melancholia that manifests in reoccurring greys, blacks, and blues. Cut to the main story where Banks is trying to teach, but the entire campus seems distracted. Twelve black legume ships have suddenly appeared in seemingly random locations throughout the world. Despite the mysterious arrival, these ships remain stoic. Still, governments and their citizens are in panic. Banks and physicists Donnelly (Renner) are recruited by Colonel Weber (Whitaker) to make sense of this situation. After arriving at the military base overseeing a ship in Montana, Banks learns every 18 hours she is expected to ascend into the ship where she can communicate with the aliens between a translucent screen. Banks must learn a language without human parallels while struggling with her brutish military supervisors. Worse, an international contingent lead by General Shang wants to end intellectual cooperation and declare war on the extraterrestrials. Everyone can agree the first act is best. Banks immediately establishes herself as an intellectual force to be reckoned with. Despite the military's unrealistic expectations, Banks is able to conjure anecdotes or defy expectations in order to maintain her position. Banks plays the character brilliantly subdued, maybe even cold. The tone works because it is supported by her back story and legitimizes her scholarly theory. Science, even when legitimate and studied by filmmakers, can sound downright hokey when spouted by caricatures. Not here. Another fact that becomes obvious fast is Arrival's excellent cinematography. I have been critical of director Villeneuve in the past, but I have never failed to mention that the shots in his films are gorgeous. There are some interior shots and vistas that will please veteran eyes, but all will be enthralled and nervous during Banks first ascension into the ship. Another Villeneuve trademark, Johann Johannsson returns as composer and he deserves partial credit for Arrival's dramatic scenes. The track underscoring the ascension seems a blend of Tarkovsky's ethereal soundtracks and the monolith's theme in 2001 (last time I mention that film, I promise). I don't think I am being over laudatory and I hope even most detractors are with me so far. Now let us wade into the more contentious.
Arrival is not devoid of squishy sentimentality or tropes. The child's early demise, beings questioning time and the nature humanity, you gotta expect some grandiose lines. Tropes: The military is in control and they are ineffectual blockheads trying to interfere with our hero promoting cooperation. Meh. I think it is unreasonable to ask filmmakers to reinvent the wheel with every movie. Start with the familiar, then innovate. Arrival accomplished this so I was never bothered. Many think the science speak devolved into mumbo jumbo and lines went past Hollywood into the realm of silly. One German commentator noted a line from Arrival literally translates to a slogan for a popular dental hygiene brand. Touché. Still, can't say I noticed. Then there are the Renner fans I never realized existed. Their consensus was his role is a throwaway. Unfair, his character works if you view him as a compliment to the protagonist. Donnelly is the only other person in Bank's intellectual stratosphere and her lone supporter. Finally, Arrival feels long. The structure is responsible. Arrival consists of two long buildups, first the ascension then the climax. The first crescendo is tense, the second is grueling. I fidgeting around the 90 minute mark, but I found redemption in the finale. Walking out of the theater, I could only wonder how my flawed perspective colored past events. Was my interpretation damaged once my framework collapses in the final moments? My silent contemplation consumed all my attention. There were flaws, but they were forgotten. I wish all audiences could have reached that state. That sounds pretentious, but I only wish this so people could enjoy Arrival as much as I did.