Arrival

When it came to communicating with aliens, things were so much easier with Steven Spielberg in 1977. "Arrival" is less like "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" though and more like "2001: A Space Odyssey". For some, that may be a good thing but "Arrival" for me lacked the climax I was hoping for. I feel this film was overhyped.

The movie maintains a suspenseful mood throughout so that is noteworthy. This comes not only inside the Shell but also during the flashes of Louise's daughter. The film started to lose its appeal at the mid-point. During the montage, I couldn't tell if Louise was making any progress in interpreting the written language of the Heptapods. Were she and the aliens trading correct information in their sessions? Was she and her team making wrong assumptions. At some points towards the end of "Arrival", it seemed that Louise and Ian had made more progress than we were led to believe after watching the montage. If that had been the only flaw with this movie, the overall experience would have been quite satisfying. Unfortunately the story of the film couldn't deliver on what was subconsciously promised by the constant anxiety. The plot twist had nothing to do with the aliens in my opinion. While I didn't see it coming, it was not a surprise for the characters on screen. We share the feelings of the protagonists of any movie as we watch it and so their lack of surprise in the story of "Arrival" became ours naturally. The twist came courtesy of the filmmakers' depiction of the story, not from the story itself. There was a lack of payoff not only with the twist but also with the reveal of the aliens. When you put aliens in a mist and behind a glass wall, one might expect a big discloser towards the end of the show. When it came, as with the plot twist, we were a little let down. I was impressed however by how the narrative structure of this movie is symbolic of the aliens' written language.

At least the actors did their job well. I am starting to see Michael Stuhlbarg in so many movies these days. The only name I recognized in the credits that wasn't an actor was producer Shawn Levy (from the "Night of the Museum" franchise). "Arrival" seemed to work for many others because it received Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Film Editing, Production Design and Sound Mixing. The only Academy Award I wanted this movie to win was for Sound Editing and I got my wish. Actually, compared to the other nominees in that catagory, it had the best chance of winning. The response of critics and friends concerning this show got me excited to see "Arrival" for myself but I was nevertheless let down. The movie was well made but the story did not satisfy the build-up towards the climax.

3 Stars