A Science Fiction Masterpiece

Rating: 9/10 (7 September 2016)

Arrival is the best sci-fi film I've seen in my 22-year-old lifespan. I haven't seen certain sci-fi films like They Live, Alien 3, or Metropolis, so I can speak only from the standpoint of someone who watches a shitload of narrative, documentary and experimental films. Some of my recent favorites are Holy Motors (2012), Son of Saul (2015), and The Look of Silence (2015).
I just saw Arrival two days ago at the Telluride Film Fest and everyone in the theater had their brains cheesed out at various points in the film. For people paying close attention to every frame, the rules of the film might become clear in the beginning sequences. For an Average Joe moviegoer like me, the film is a slow, natural process of discovery from the first scene to the last. The influences of Stanley Kubrick on science fiction films has been noted time after time, but Arrival picks up its Kubrick vibes with it's slow sense of discovery, even if Amy Adams and her technology moves around the screen more frantically than 2001: A Space Odyssey. That's why I respect this film and also why I like 10 Cloverfield Lane. A lot of sci-fi films (like the new Star Trek released this summer) don't create that unfolding sense of science/alien-related mystery. The way information is revealed and presented leaves us begging for more answers, and boy does Arrival deliver.
Oscar-worthy for sure, especially in production design/special effects/sound. Don't blow it, go see it November 11th or whenever it's coming to your town.
Bring earplugs.
Just kidding.
But seriously.