Prior to watching “Arrival,” I hadn’t seen any of French-Canadian director Dennis Villeneuve’s films. That wasn’t for lack of desire, as each of his English films, save perhaps “Enemy,” which I know the least about, have struck me as potentially captivating. Despite my interest in his work, however, “Arrival” was my introduction to Villeneuve. While I’m still intrigued by his past and future exploits, I may be slightly less so now.
“Arrival” follows Louise Banks (Amy Adams), a world-renowned linguist, enlisted by the military to help interpret the language used by the alien passengers of 12 mysterious spacecraft that recently descended on various parts of earth. Banks’ mission is to discover why the extraterrestrials have come to our blue planet, …show more content…
The creatures are otherworldly yet familiar, creepy yet peaceful and come across as highly intelligent and dignified. They may not be the coolest CGI creations of the year, but they’re definitely effective ones.
A final element I enjoyed about the movie is Jóhann Jóhannsson’s much buzzed about score. It is quite good. Jóhannsson’s music does a great job of underscoring the tense, serious and sometimes unsettling atmosphere of the film without being overbearing.
Even though I found these positives in “Arrival,” I left the theater feeling mixed about the film. I see two major problems with the picture, both of which lie with Villeneuve and his screenwriter Eric Heisserer. This movie is frustratingly complex, but it borders on the edge of being too enigmatic and confusing (this coming from a guy who loves a good mindbender). By the time the credits started to roll, I literally had a headache from attempting to decipher some of the plot machinations and meanings in “Arrival.”
That intellectual density isn’t helped by the pacing, which is an asset in suspenseful sequences but a detriment as the movie goes on. The revelations don’t come often enough to provide viewers with relief to the intellectual fog they’re living in as they watch this