Arrival

Arrival – Louise Banks is a renowned linguist so when a fleet of alien ships arrive at various places around the globe, she is called upon to help communicate with them. Along with scientist, Ian Donnelly, she joins the US military and scientists to begin the arduous task of deciphering the aliens’ strange written language. A few breakthroughs later, a concerning message is uncovered which could be a threat, but Louise believes they are being misunderstood. Can Louise and Ian figure out the actual meaning of the message before one of the alien vessels is fired upon?

Arrival (2016) – Director: Denis Villeneuve

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51343430

Rating: 12

Running Length; 116 mins

Starring: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker

Genre: Science Fiction

REVIEW: ‘ARRIVAL’

Based on the short story ‘Story of Your Life’ by Ted Chiang, ‘Arrival’ looks at what might happen if a fleet of alien ships came to Earth and …didn’t really do a lot! Are they here to attack? Here to take over after lulling us into a false sense of security? Do they come in peace? Could there be an entirely different reason for them to be here? In ‘Arrival’ there is no instant attack. By showing a willing to communicate with apparent peace the movie explores an uneasy alliance in humanity due to the difficult nature of deciphering the alien language. Of course, some countries are more willing to attack the new visitors than others which adds an extra level of tension to proceedings.

Everything in Arrival is subdued. Protagonists Louise (Amy Adams) and Ian (Jeremy Renner) aren’t proving charismatic performances. Several, long sweeping shots of the ship and countryside make it clear that this isn’t exciting sci fi, but regardless ‘Arrival’ is still compelling. Louise’s intelligence and tenacity are infectious; she and Ian quickly become the aliens’ champions. When their precarious friendship is jeopardised by the aliens communicating the ambiguous words ‘offer weapon’, the pair desperately try to not only understand what this means (convinced that they can’t possibly be hostile) but also stop China launching an attack to destroy the aliens.

‘Arrival’ won’t be to everyone’s tastes; if you’re expecting an action-packed alien invasion movie then you’ll likely find it to be dull. But what ‘Arrival’ does brilliantly is look at human nature under a microscope to see what we might do under extreme, unusual and dangerous circumstances. Do we, as a species, make the right choices?

CONTENT: IS ‘ARRIVAL’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

The movie opens showing Louise’s daughter being born and goes through the girl’s life. She starts as a happy child but as a teenager she yells ‘I hate you!’ at her mother, presumably during an argument. The scene moves to doctor and hospital appointments, culminating in the daughter lying in a hospital bed, desperately ill from cancer. Louise’s voiceover states ‘This was the end’. Louise sobs and pleads with her daughter to ‘Come back to me’ when she dies.

A strong curse word is exclaimed when Louise and Ian are taken inside the spaceship.

Once inside the alien ship, the group stand in a large, empty room with a white, smoky screen in front of them. The music is minimal but throbs, making it very eerie. The aliens, which look like huge squids appear through the fog behind the screen. They do not speak but communicate by sending out black smoke from their tentacles.

A news article shows a burning building, the newsreader explains ‘144 are feared dead’ in the blaze due to a cult committing mass suicide.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘ARRIVAL’ FOR KIDS?

‘Arrival’ is a study of human nature with the backdrop of alien visitation so not the most exciting sci-fi concept. However, it has the confidence of its convictions and makes itself interesting with originality, great acting, good pacing and it never overstays its welcome. Other than one strong curse word, there is little unsuitable content for kids so we feel it is appropriate for kids aged 8 and over, however the slowness and lack of action may make it a dull watch for under 12s.

Violence: 0/5
Emotional Distress: 2/5 (the opening sequence with Louise’s daughter dying from cancer may upset)
Fear Factor: 2/5 (the aliens are huge, squid-like creatures with no features and no dialogue – they communicate via written symbols – as it is unclear of how friendly they are, the dark, smoky atmosphere of the ship could be scary for some kids)
Sexual Content: 0/5
Bad Language: 3/5
Dialogue: 0/5
Other Notes: Deals with themes of human nature, alien visitation, communication, the importance of language, hostility and fear of the unknown.

Words by Laura Record