Review: “Arrival” (PG-13)

Amy Adams in “Arrival”; Jan Thijs, Paramount Pictures(NEW YORK) — Arrival is a sci-fi film like no other.

That makes writing this review a challenge like no other because, in my opinion, the less you know about this film the better. Even if I did present you with most of the details, it’s so wonderfully directed by Denis Villeneuve, so evocatively filmed by cinematographer Bradford Young, and so deftly written and adapted by Eric Heisserer, spoiling it with important plot details wouldn’t detract from  this masterpiece.

Based on the short story “Story of Your Life,” by Ted Chiang, Arrival begins with Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams) narrating the story of her daughter, and It. Will. Destroy. You. I’ll just leave that right there and move on.

When 12 unusually shaped identical alien ships arrive and park themselves in different countries around the globe, Banks — a university linguist and professor — is visited by Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker), who wants her to decode the aliens’ language, with the help of physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner).

The military has already established contact with the interplanetary visitors but tells Banks and Donnelly little warning about what they’re getting themselves into — which is, literally, the belly of a alien ship. Again, I’ll skip the details of what they see and experience, because I want you to experience it for yourself.

The way the ship and aliens are pictured is mostly original. It feels as though this really is what it might be like if we were visited by extra-terrestrials.  Everything about them — including the way they look and communicate — might be something we’ve simply never before thought of, let alone can comprehend.

Banks is tasked with finding out why the aliens are here. The 11 other countries playing host to the aliens are trying to do the same thing. Of course, the world is on edge, and even though the aliens’ arrival gives humanity a good reason to forget about our differences, boundaries, nationalist pride and self-interest still reign supreme.

The international coalition’s efforts to find out and share information is tenuous at best, due to security fears and national self-interests. As the movie draws to its conclusion, Villeneuve puts the audience in an emotional vise and slowly squeezes us, until  it becomes nearly becomes unbearable.

Who doesn’t love a good movie plot twist? Arrival doesn’t just  have a good one — it has a full-blown F5 tornado of a twist.

Arrival is other-level storytelling magic that’ll have sci-fi fans stimulated and excited for generations. Like all great films, there’s a strong theme and message to which fans will turn again and again, particularly when experiencing profound loss.

Arrival is sci-fi with soul, and with all due credit to the filmmakers, that soul is Amy Adams’ Dr. Banks.  Her work here should once again make Adams part of the conversation for another well-deserved Oscar nomination.

Five out of five stars.

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