5 Out of 5 Stars
Sicario was easily in my top five films last year and Denis Villeneuve is back this time with his take on the alien visitation sub-genre Arrival. The film screened as part of the closing night festivities of the Philadelphia Film Festival and it was a strong ending to an already great fest. Before I go further however, I am going to warn you, the less you know before sitting down the more you will enjoy the film. So with that in mind you can either keep reading on for mild spoilers or take my rating at the top of this post that this is a film not to be missed.

Arrival is the story of Louise Banks (Amy Adams), a troubled linguist enlisted in a top-secret military operation when 12 mysterious alien ships appear all over the planet. Paired with theoretical physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), Louise must find out the reason behind the visit before the world crumbles under the eruption paranoia brought on by the appearance of extraterrestrial life. As the world hopes for the best, yet prepares for the worst, Louise from the ground up must decipher the language of the visitors as fear and uncertainty look to be the downfall of humanity.



Arrival is an adaptation of Ted Chiang’s Story of Your Life, which masterfully relies on the strengths of the genre to tell an intrinsically human story about alien arrival on our planet. Much liker Sicario, Arrival is brimming with tension as Louise is in a race against time as different countries have come up with slightly different interpretations of the alien’s language. Are the aliens our friends or enemies? Why are they here? What do they want? Where do they come from? These are the questions Louise must find the answers to before man declares war on a species they have no chance in winning against.

The film is reminiscent of the best science fiction has to offer as the films uses this bigger narrative and sets that against the more intimate story of loss that drives Louise and her choices. It’s these two stories and how they intertwine and eventually culminate in the narrative that gives one of the most satisfying theatrical experiences of recent memory. Amy Adams turns in an Oscar worthy performance as she battles her demons while keeping the peace between species. It’s a precarious balancing act that thanks to Denis Villeneuve appears almost effortless on screen.


Arrival is an amazing theatrical feat in this day and age; full of wonder and ideas all encapsulating a very human story at its center. The film is very invocative of Close Encounters, in that it’s a film that presents the very real pros and cons of alien life showing up at our doorstep and overcoming the greatest hurdle, which would be the fear of what that means for us as a species. It’s a dense film that will change the way you think about communication and the way you feel about life both here and in the universe.