Director – Denis Villeneuve
Starring – Amy Adams; Jeremy Renner; Forest Whitaker; Michael Stuhlbarg.
Running Time – 116 minutes (1 hour 56 minutes)
★★★★✩
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I was lucky enough to see Arrival during the London Film Festival. Despite the early start and using Southern Rail to get to the screening, I was excited to see what all the critic love was all about.
Before I continue my review, If you want to see a fast-paced space action-adventure, this isn’t the film for you. Arrival is a slow, interesting look into the meaning of language and how a simple word could affect the world.
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When mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team – led by expert linguist Louise Banks (AMY ADAMS) – are brought together to investigate. As mankind teeters on the verge of global war, Banks and the team race against time for answers – and to find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity.
Villeneuve delivered a film with the true meaning of sci-fi as it had something to say about how humans treat every new thing as a threat and how threaten we become when a simple word is used without context.
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Adams was superb, this is probably the best performance she’s ever given and deserves to be in the race for Best Actress when award season starts. Meanwhile, Renner and Whittaker did a great job in the supporting roles.
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It was beautifully shot and I loved how cinematographer Bradford Young (who’ll also be working on the Han Solo film) used pastel colours to bring the film to life.
Furthermore, the use of fast-forwarding throughout the weeks and months was great storytelling to move the film forward and you never feel like you’ve missed a step.
However, leaving the screening I was a bit confused if the film made me smarter or if I’m really that stupid.
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The main reason for this because you have to concentrate really hard and a lot of the science part really went over my head and it sometimes made me lose take to where I was in the movie.
On the other hand, it may be a film needing a second viewing.
Verdict
A beautifully shot film with Adams giving a superb performance. It feels like a proper sci-fi film with a meaning behind it.
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