Intelligent science fiction

Rating: 10/10 (2 October 2019)

In the opening scenes we see protagonist Louise Banks raising and ultimately losing a daughter. We then see her lecturing in linguistics in a university; her class seems poorly attended but it soon emerges that there is a good reason for that... news is breaking of the arrival of twelve alien space ships. They are hovering at various points around the world just above the Earth's surface. Louise is approached by Colonel G.T. Weber of the US Military to help them try to communicate with the craft above Montana. Here she is teamed up with scientist Ian Donnelly. Upon entering the ship they meet two seven limbed aliens, dubbed 'heptopods'. It immediately becomes clear that their method of communication is unlike any human language. Gradually a basic vocabulary is developed; then a potentially worrying message is received... it may be an offer, or a threat or just a misunderstanding. Some countries take it as a threat and prepare to attack the crafts above their countries. If peace is to be maintained Louise and Ian will have to decipher the aliens' final message.
If you are hoping for the sort of sci-fi that delivers lots of fasts moving action and sexy, almost human, aliens then you are in for a disappointment. If however you want an intelligent, ideas led story then you should watch this. Most science fiction conveniently avoids the problems of communication with ideas such as 'universal translators', 'translator microbes' of a fish you stick in your ear but this film is all about establishing communications. As such it moves at a fairly slow pace with much of the action set in drab rooms... this doesn't mean it was boring though; I was thoroughly engrossed and the twists, which I won't spoil, surprised me without being too convenient or irritating. Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner impress as Louise and Ian and Forest Whitaker is solid in the role of Col. Weber. The rest of the cast is pretty good too. I feared that the ending might not live up to what went before but thankfully it did. Overall a great film that fans of more cerebral sci-fi need to watch... that's not meant as an insult to action packed space operas like 'Star Wars' or the high camp of 'Flash Gordon'; I love those as well!