REVIEW: Surprising ‘Arrival’ a thinkpiece disguised as sci-fi

You know one job I’m extremely grateful to not have? Movie marketing. That whole job involves manipulating people’s expectations in hopes of putting butts in theater seats. And if your marketing sells your movie as something it’s not, audiences can turn on you in a heartbeat. I bring this up because “Arrival” has been marketed as your average alien invasion drama, but that’s not what you get with this movie.

What you get is something much, much better.

“Arrival” introduces us to Louise Banks (Amy Adams), a college linguistics professor who is dealing with a life full of loss. When strange unidentified craft show up around the world, Louise is brought onto a government-assembled team along with theoretical physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), and charged with the mission of finding out who the visitors are, where they came from and why they’re here. I can’t say too much more without spoiling things, although, if you’ve already read the Ted Chiang short story this movie’s based on, you probably know where it’s headed.

“Arrival” is not what I was expecting. Instead of a color-by-numbers sci-fi story, I got a surprisingly deep, contemplative, moving narrative that touched on themes of love, loss and time. The acting is terrifically subtle, the writing is subdued and the whole film has an eerie atmospheric feel that surrounds you and binds you into the story.

To be honest, I would’ve been perfectly happy with a well-executed first contact movie. I love escapist science fiction as much as any nerd. But I was so completely taken in by the questions asked by “Arrival”. It compelled me to think about the way I look at my world and the way the people in it influence me. It made me take stock of the words I say, and consider whether I’m sensitive enough in how I talk to people. After all, words can be weapons, and they can really cause damage if you aren’t careful.

The acting in “Arrival” is some of the most affecting I’ve seen onscreen this year. Adams and Renner play things so subtly and believably, sometimes I felt like I was spying on two real people. Forrest Whitaker is also effective as a military officer who’s looking for answers. These three characters take up a vast majority of the screen time, and thankfully they are able to bear the weight of the whole story. “Arrival” would completely fall apart if the couldn’t.

Director Denis Villeneuve and his team of filmmakers really goose the effectiveness of the movie by creating a deeply affecting atmosphere. Everything is shadows and shades of grey, making for a foreboding environment for our heroes. The editing is deliberate in its pace and there isn’t really any flashy camera work. Everything is done to keep you glued to our protagonists and keep you in their headspace. And it works like gangbusters.

There isn’t a lot of action in “Arrival”, but it never felt boring or overlong. It hooks you with the mystery of what’s up with the aliens, and things come together in a way ingeniously unexpected, I literally felt my knees get weak. That’s the sign of a good movie: when it affects your emotions to such a degree that it’s manifested in a physical way.

As far as flaws, there are some side characters that are kind of cliched and I didn’t care much for the music. But I was honestly so engrossed in what Louise and Ian were doing, those flaws didn’t bother me too much.

Movies like “Arrival” don’t come along very often. It’s a soulful, contemplative film wrapped up in the trappings of a sci-fi yarn. No wonder the marketing people chose to market in the way they did. I say don’t worry about the trailer, check your expectations at the door, and see “Arrival” as soon as humanly (or extraterrestrially) possible.

5 Indy Fedoras out of 5

MPAA Rating: PG-13