Arrival, starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker and directed by Denis Villeneuve and Eric Heisserer, is an American science-fiction film based on the 1998 short story ‘Story of Your Life’.
When twelve extraterrestrial spacecraft land on different locations around Earth, military personnel and scientific experts are sent to monitor and study the craft; in the United States, U.S. Army officer Colonel G. T. Weber recruits linguist Louise Banks and physicist Ian Donnelly to study the spacecraft which landed in Montana. Whilst researching the aliens’ written language and attempting to communicate with the creatures to learn of their purpose on Earth, the two must help to maintain stable and credible relations with their international counterparts.
Though the film is engaging and the actors’ performances praiseworthy, the sequence of events of the film proves difficult to understand, both stimulating viewers’ thoughts and provoking conversation. This film, therefore, is more for those who enjoy being challenged.
Seen on Monday 23rd September 2019 at the Phoenix Cinema, East Finchley, courtesy of IntoFilm.
