As simple as simple plots for films go, Arrival is up there. Mysterious alien ships arrive and the world has to work out what to do next. However this is about as far from Independence Day as it is possible to get. Arrival comes at the question of how the world reacts with the calm inquisitiveness of a director interested in returning science fiction cinema to science fiction's roots.
Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner are the scientific duo who end up heading the US government's race to decode the alien signals. Adams leads as Louise Banks - the language expert struggling to build a communication handbook from absolutely zero. The process of discovery, of scientifically piecing together elements of information to form a whole, is utterly engaging and surprisingly realistic. The scientific process is one of sudden leads rather than incremental steps, and so it is here with Banks' various bouts of inspiration, depression, uncertainty and shocked wonder. By layering Banks' hinted-at past against her very haunting present, Arrival slips into the realms of hard science fiction in a way that mainstream cinema often struggles to get right.
The film never lets this dedication to precision go. As progress is made in communicating with the aliens, Arrival takes a turn for the political and looks at the wider world's reaction. Will the world sit and wait for the scientists to work? What are the motivations of the aliens, who continue to hang there motionless and silent? Where science delays in providing reassurance, the political void creates its own narratives to fill the airwaves.
In short, Arrival is the stand out science fiction film of recent times. You need to watch it.
Director Denis Villeneuve appears to have tried his hand at most film genres already in his as-yet short career. IMDB tells me that he has now directed the remake (reboot - who knows) of Blade Runner. Now while the existence of Blade Runner 2049 makes be sad, given that it exists we might as well hope for it to be well-handled. With luck Villeneuve is the man for the job.
