We have been blessed as of late with a brilliant onslaught of Science-Fiction movies. 2015 offered us the likes of Ex-Machina, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Martian, and of course Star Wars: The Force Awakens. 2016 may have the best of the bunch to offer in Denis Villeneuve's Arrival. This movie, starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner, provides audience with a slow paced, nerdy, and most notably, emotional, thrill ride.
The film starts off straight into the action. Within the first scene we learn of the "arrival" and the situation it presents. Do not let this fool you, however, as this fast start is not indicative of the pacing that follows. The scenes that follow are slow to build, walking us through Dr. Louise Bank's experience as shes rushed from her comfortable home life as linguistic professor into the main bridge of communication between the aliens and humanity. I really enjoyed this choice to offer a fleshed out story instead of one that rushes into the plot head over heels. Spending time getting to know the characters made this weird, complex, Science-Fiction story become extremely human.
The middle section of this movie is filled with scenes of just Dr. Banks and the Heptopods trying to develop a way of communication. Throughout these sequences I could not help but to think how surreal it would be to have nothing but a glass wall separate myself and an alien life form. The complexity of trying to balance her gut feeling and commonsense sense with the rigid bureaucracy of the military makes the movie feel very real even with the alien invasion premise.
I also loved the look and feel of the Science-Fiction aspects of this movie. From the switching of gravity upon entering the shell, to the look of the Heptopods, to the complex nature of the alien language, Arrival hits the mark in creating a visually impressive Science-Fiction movies. The implication and purpose of the Heptopods was great as well. Beings that experience time in a non-linear fashion always provide an interesting perspective, and these ones, offering assistance to the humans in return for assistance 3,000 years later, continued that trend.
The best aspect of this film was undoubtedly the reveal that Dr. Bank's flashbacks were actually flash forwards. These came as a gift from the Heptopods that allowed her to piece together the puzzle based on future experience and save humanity from starting an unwarranted a war against the Heptopods. Being able to see the future does not come with all rainbows and flowers. Dr. banks is forced to live life knowing that her daughter will die to a rare and incurable disease, ruin her marriage, and strain the relationship between her husband and daughter. At this point in the movie, all the slow burning tension and character building pays its dividends, and I will not lie I teared up.
Ultimately, Arrival manages to succeed on a multitude of levels. While still remaining true to its Sci-fi roots, the movie never strays from the human aspects that makes this story so relatable. I would highly recommend going to see this movie in theaters and don't be afraid to shed a tear!
No comments:
Post a Comment