Midnight Special did it better

Rating: 6/10 (16 October 2016)

The new Sci-Fi effort, "Arrival", isn't exactly a new idea. Going back to "2001-A Space Odyssey", and most recently "Midnight Special", stories about communicating with aliens haven't lacked for examination. In this piece, aliens arrive at various sites around the globe, and (surprise!) they don't have any known language. Amy Adams, as a renowned linguistic prof, is recruited to communicate with them. She is in a race with other "communicators" to find out why the aliens have shown up; the various governments aren't good at cooperating. No spoilers there. To my only very basic linguistic-trained experience, the linguistics in this instance are spot on. The science seems at least a bit shaky. The fantasy... well, it's waaay out there. In spite of all that, thanks to Amy Adams, the film does work on a storytelling level. Her character uses linguistics, along with her partner (played by Jeremy Renner), a mathematician, to decode the aliens' language. The task is time-consuming, and of course belligerents around the world get impatient. Can she beat the clock? That is her assignment, and she knows it from the very beginning. Adams, as always, is terrific. (Like Jennifer Lawrence, there doesn't seem to be any role Adams can't bring off.) Renner's subtle but positive influence is significant. He doesn't have a lot to do, but he makes good use of his assignment. Forest Whittaker, as the sympatico but hard-pressed military commander, is good but forgettable. Without Adams, there would be no film. Director Denis Villaneuve realizes this and makes good use of her. He would have been well assisted with a more cohesive script.