Directed by Denis Villeneuve (Sicario; Enemy; Prisoners) and starring Amy Adams (American Hustle; Man of Steel; Her; Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice; Trouble with the Curve; Charlie Wilson's War; Sunshine Cleaning), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker; The Town; American Hustle; The Bourne Legacy; Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters; Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol) and Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland; Platoon; Rogue One: A Star Wars Story; Southpaw; Where the Wild Things Are).
Sci-fi drama; 117 mins, 12+
In "Arrival", Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is a linguist teaching at a high school when news comes of a number of strange spacecraft that have arrived at different locations around the earth. While the US military and foreign powers have little success in trying to communicate with the extra-terrestial visitors, she is paid a visit by Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker) who persuades her to come with him to help translate. She is reminded that her security clearance is still valid following previous work she had done for the State Department. She is joined by scientist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) and, between them, they make contact and try to decipher the aliens' communications.
Throughout all this, Louise - who lives alone in a modern lakeside house - has flashbacks including of her daughter who died of cancer when she was a teenager. These flashbacks become more and more vivid and detailed, and the audience starts to wonder if Louise has shut out the memories which come flooding back. As the film progresses, some of these images are of the future, and Lousie feels that contact with the aliens is somehow linked.
Despite the special effects, which are primarily of a strange oblong spaceship and seven-legged alien beings (who Donnelly nicknames as Abbott and Costello), the main strengths of this film are two-fold. Firstly, it is refreshing that the alien forms are different from what has been previously depicted on the big screen and - in particular - that their language is conveyed in a very different way to languages on earth. And, secondly, the character development is really what makes this film succeed, as the audience discovers more and more about Louise Banks and her past - and future.
A refreshing science fiction film that really has the audience caught up in the characters and the storyline which reaches an interesting conclusion. No alien wars - although a global war was threatened during the film - but a riveting drama which could be closest to the truth than many other science fiction attempts.
