Arrival

Every now and then a film comes along that defies all your expectations, forces you to question your perceptions and leaves you blinking at the world. Describing Arrival is to consider a plethora of notions and ideas that are, in my opinion, best experienced first hand; this film is a heavy one and one that must be judged by an individual without bias. Writing about it has been very hard and I may spoil a few elements, so I advice you, dear reader, to turn around and go straight to your nearest screening and take these words with you; it's good, it's so good, it's so bloody good I wanted to forgo all cinema etiquette and clap at the end, sit myself back down and watch it all over again. This is most abnormal.

 Director Denis Villeneuve pulls together an impressive cast in an extraordinary science fiction story, and while you may have seen parts of it before elsewhere, the strikingly postmodern Arrival compiles a unique mix, presenting something truly extraordinary and original. Adapted from the short story Story Of Your Life, it tells the tale of Dr Louise Banks (Amy Adams) a linguist who is brought in to investigate one of twelve behemoth craft which have appeared across the world. Joined by astrophysicist Ian Donnely (Jeremy Renner), Banks must learn to communicate with the mysterious beings who have initiated first contact all whilst reliving traumatic experiences from her own lifetime. Adams and Renner are flawless, reminding us that they are, in spite of some of their more resent work, top tier and Forest Whitaker and Michael Stuhlbarg perform admirably as the military side of the team rounding off the core cast which is small and focused on the larger story at hand.

Jóhann Jóhannsson's score is perhaps its strongest element, taking cues from 1988's Akira and 2014's Under the Skin. It is slow to gain momentum, adding constant pressure on the viewer. Providing atmospheric depth, it builds tension beautifully with its striking and alien tones, keeping me on the edge of my seat throughout and constantly engaged upon the scenes unfolding before me, unable to look away no matter how uncomfortable it was making me.

Like all good science fiction movies, Arrival is a product of its time, providing that glint of hope within an ever more fractured world. It is a film for the era of Brexit and Donald Trump, one that provides commentary on the divisions of culture and language, language and our ability to communicate being most important to the film's plot and socio-political leanings. Perhaps I'm giving too much away but what do you expect from a film lead by a linguist?