Amongst the best movies of the year

Rating: 9/10 (11 December 2016)

The year 2016 has not been a very good one for any avid moviegoer as it is filled with mediocrity. It has not been a complete disaster though and there were still quite a lot of movies that were worth the watch. The ones that can be considered as the cream of the crop however have been few and far in between. For these reasons it almost feels like a small celebration when a movie releases that appears to fit into the last category. In a lot of ways this seemed to be the case for 'Arrival' as almost everything surrounding this movie seemed to suggest that this was going to a modern- day masterpiece or at the very least the greatest movie of the year. It featured an amazing cast and all of the media released beforehand was beautiful to look at. If the past has thought us anything it is almost a fact that movies with sky high expectations like these can only be a disappointment. Can 'Arrival' live up to the hype?
The story of 'Arrival' is centered around Dr. Louise Banks, a world renown linguist played by Amy Adams. The life of Dr. Banks changes dramatically when aliens land in twelve different locations around the globe. The United States calls upon Dr. Banks to find the answer to one simple question: "Why are they here?" At the helm is the critically acclaimed director Denis Villeneuve who has been on fire in the last couple of years with movies such as 'Incendies', 'Sicario' and one of my personal favourites 'Prisoners'. Once again Villeneuve, together with cinematographer Bradford Young, has managed to create a gorgeous looking movie. Almost every shot is simply mesmerizing to look at and a few made my jaw figuratively drop in amazement. All the shots merge together into one interwoven web of beauty and it isn't hard to argue that 'Arrival' is the best looking movie of the year. Ever present throughout the film is a great sense of tension that will keep many sitting on the edge of their seat. This tension paired with the relative slow pace of most shots and a soundtrack that is often oozing with theme represents a firm grip that never lets go once it has gotten a hold of the audience. My eyes were simply glued to the screen wanting to take in everything this movie had to offer.
Part of this can also be attributed towards the story this movie tells. The idea of aliens landing on the planet is not very unique, however the manner it is presented in is anything but. Following Dr. Banks' journey in understanding these aliens was incredibly fun and the manner they interacted with one another felt very realistic. Most events surrounding Dr. Banks also feel very real and it isn't hard to imagine that should aliens visit us in real life it'll look similar to how it is presented in this movie. The story 'Arrival' tells could easily have been one of the best we've seen in recent years, but there are certain elements which keeps it from reaching its full potential. Certain events feel forced or are simply glossed over, present are a handful of potholes and quite a few characters feel useless in comparison to Dr. Banks. There's also a bit of narration present in the middle of the movie which feels very awkward and misplaced and when the story of 'Arrival' meets its end it wraps up a little too neatly. A bit more polish should have gone into the storytelling however as it stands this still is one of the most interesting stories you'll be able to see in cinemas this year with a final act that makes the entire movie appear in a different light.
Something I cannot speak highly enough of is the superb acting from the main cast. Amy Adams in particular really gave her all with a performance that was absolutely stellar. Often without words she shows that there is more to her character than meets the eye and there is always a sense of an emotional struggle going on within her. Jeremy Renner, as Dr. Banks' love interest and physicist Ian Donnelly, also brought a great performance and the only real criticism would be that Renner does not always convey the sense that he understands what he is saying when he's talking about science related topics. Given his performance it is sad to see that the movie did not give his character the attention it deserved and that, in the grand scheme of things, his character did not attribute to all that much. The performances of Renner and Adams on their own are superb, what's even better though is the great chemistry between them and overall it was a lot of fun to see them interact with one another on the big screen.
Ultimately 'Arrival' did not achieve my unrealistically high expectations and it certainly wasn't the masterpiece it very easily could have been. It still is a very solid movie that most definitely deserves its spot amongst the best movies of the year. The acting performances 'Arrival' has to offer are incredible and the visual style of Denis Villeneuve is even more amazing. I do think that this is a movie that can only be fully appreciated after a second watch and as of right now I can only rate it a slightly conservative 8 out of 10.