Arrival is a ‘rather wonderful science-fiction drama’

MOVIE REVIEW: This rather wonderful science-fiction drama is very much a next-century companion piece to Close Encounters Of the Third Kind.

ARRIVAL (M)

Director: Denis Villeneuve (Sicario)

Starring: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg, Tzi Ma

Rating: 4 / 5

They’re here. You hear?

Though stacked with visitors from some or other universe, don’t be arriving at Arrival expecting to witness an alien invasion movie.

For this is actually an alien translation movie.

These mysterious intergalactic interlopers are not here to overpower us. They are here to be understood.

Amy Adams as Dr Louise Banks in a scene in the new highly-acclaimed science fiction film Arrival. Picture: Paramount Pictures

This rather wonderful science-fiction drama is very much a next-century companion piece to Steven Spielberg’s 1977 classic Close Encounters Of the Third Kind.

For those with long memories, adventurous tastes or open minds, this should be recommendation enough to book a ticket to Arrival at warp speed. Such people will not be disappointed in any way.

For everyone else, the merits (and the message) of Arrival will take a little longer to kick in. Nothing wrong with that, as long as the wait is worth it. And in this case, it definitely is.

The story unfolds in the present day. A dozen alien craft have appeared at random locations around the globe.

These spaceships are charcoal-black in colour, shaped like a one-eighth wedge cut from an apple, and measure about a kilometre in length from top to tail.

It is also important to note these vessels have not landed on our planet in the traditional manner. Each craft has been parked in midair, perfectly immobile, about 10m or so from the ground.

No one has emerged. The only point of entry is an opening to a central shaft that runs the length of the spaceship.

As the days pass by, and the various nations hosting these eerie parking spots go into meltdown about what to do next, it is the Americans that take the lead (come on now, this is a Hollywood movie) and make the first investigative incursion aboard.

The US military enlist the help of linguistics professor Dr Louise Banks (Amy Adams) and physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) to spearhead communications with the aliens. Her work is more than cut out for her.

Jeremy Renner as Ian Donnelly in a scene from new movie Arrival. Picture: Jan Thijs / Paramount Pictures

The visitors express themselves with sounds that seemingly have no root in language as we know it. That is until Louise develops a method that transforms the aliens speech into graphic blobs — not a world away from ink blots — that opens a positive dialogue just in a nick of time.

Adams’ and Renner’s characters find a way to decipher the unintelligible speech from the aliens. Picture: Paramount Pictures

In one prominent subplot, some nations — let’s not mention any names — are getting itchy trigger fingers.

The most important and lastingly memorable scenes transpire inside the alien spacecraft, the unworldly environment of which won’t be outlined here.

All you need to know is that even though mankind knows it is now no longer alone, it could take a long time — too long, perhaps — for our species to get their heads around the concept.

Forest Whitaker as Colonel Weber in a scene from movie Arrival. Picture: Jan Thijs / Paramount Pictures via AP

Directed by in-form French Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve (coming off last year’s superb Sicario, and now en route to a Blade Runner reboot), Arrival consistently emits a serenity and soulfulness that smooth over any rough patches to its story.

While it must be said the application of some Interstellar-esque time theory to bring some sense of resolution to Arrival’s ending may try the patience of some viewers, the film’s open ambitions and rich atmosphere justify the extra effort sometimes demanded.