'Arrival': The film lacks a sense of the transcendent
How do you create a movie about space aliens and still make it seem new? This is the conundrum posed, and not all that ably resolved, by 鈥淎rrival,鈥� which stars Amy Adams as Dr. Louise Banks, a linguistics professor who is tasked by the US military with figuring out how to communicate with the squiggly, squidlike extraterrestrials whose spaceships, landed on Earth, resemble an immense ultrasleek cough drop.
It begins promisingly, with scattershot TV reports of the alien landings inciting increasing dread. A reluctant Louise is recruited by an Army colonel (Forest Whitaker) to decode the squealing language of the aliens, whose spaceships are ominously parked at 12 locations around the world.
We have already been given a quick rundown on Louise鈥檚 fraught life leading up to this moment: the unexplained loss of her husband and the death of her only child, a daughter, to cancer. Her mournfulness is all of a piece with the film鈥檚 pallid, grayish ambience. Earth may well be worth saving, but 鈥淎rrival鈥� doesn鈥檛 exactly make the best case for it.
The mounting, low-key anxiety serves the film well for a while because Denis Villeneuve, directing from a script by Eric Heisserer, makes you believe that, yes, this is the way it might really happen if aliens landed. It鈥檚 also believable that the arrivals might touch off a global game of chicken, with Russia and China pushing the brinkmanship.聽
Fairly soon, alas, it becomes clear that Villeneuve (鈥淪icario,鈥� 鈥淧risoners鈥�) is a director lacking not only humor but also a sense of the transcendent. The humorlessness is partially forgivable, although I must say I have been spoiled ever since 鈥淐lose Encounters of the Third Kind,鈥� which managed to be both loads of fun and mind-boggling. (This is what 鈥淭he Martian鈥� also aimed for, and missed.)
But it鈥檚 difficult to get worked into a state of awe with this film because so much of it is so sodden. I half wished the aliens would blow something real big up just to break the monotony, but it turns out they are friendly 鈥� sort of. They eject squid ink-like messages that, once decoded, mean something like 鈥淲e come in peace.鈥� Turns out they want to literally change the way earthlings think by rewiring our brain circuits with their language, which, once learned, can alter our space-time continuum. Or at least Louise鈥檚. Or something like that.
I guess it doesn鈥檛 matter exactly what this film is about. Except it does. When we鈥檝e come this far, I rightly expect that all this聽 circle-of-time hoo-ha will amount to something more than a great big 鈥淗uh?鈥澛�
A halfhearted attempt is made by the filmmakers to give Louise a love interest: a theoretical physicist, played by Jeremy Renner, whose quota of 鈥淎ha!鈥� moments is thankfully kept to a minimum. Unfortunately, just about everything about this guy is kept to a minimum. He鈥檚 a plot device, except, of course, there isn鈥檛 much of a plot.
I realize I鈥檓 not supposed to be so cavalier about a movie that clearly is aiming for Importance 鈥� not to mention Oscars 鈥� but it would take a hardier soul than I am to suppress a snicker when Louise enters the spaceship鈥檚 dismal, honeycombed interior, bravely sheds her orange hazmat suit, and holds up a sign saying 鈥淗uman.鈥� Unless there鈥檚 something truly momentous going on, I prefer my sci-fi to be a lot more weightless than weighty. Grade: C+ (Rated PG-13 for brief strong language.)
