The science fiction genre originated in the first half of the last century. And throughout the history of cinema, he invariably continued to be one of the most popular among viewers of various age categories. However, in the vast majority of cases, films shot in this genre were more entertaining than intellectual. But with the advent of the 21st century, the situation has changed. Yes, popcorn blockbusters haven’t disappeared from the screens. But more and more original science fiction films with philosophical implications began to appear. And one of these, no doubt, is the recent hit "Arrival", filmed by director Denis Villeneuve.
The film received a huge number of awards and nominations. However, after watching it, she still left a lot of questions. In this article, we will talk in detail about who created this film and how, and also find out exactly what the meaning was nevertheless laid down in “Arrival” (2016). Reviews, reviews for the film will also be discussed in the article.
What is the movie about?
Louise is a young woman who has been studying languages ​​all her life. In linguistics, she is the best of the best and devotes all her free time to her activities. She currently holds a position at a prestigious university. But once her habitual life changes dramatically.
This happens after the appearance of strange flying objects in many large cities. People were in a panic and did not know what would happen next. Naturally, for many years, mankind has guessed that humans are far from the only superintelligent race in the Galaxy. However, the arrival of the spaceships was so unexpected that even the government simply did not know what to do next.
Development of events
The film "Arrival" received positive reviews for what it keeps in suspense from the beginning to the very end. On the one hand, these ships were located without any threat. Also on their part there was not a single sign of aggression. However, the military were confident that they needed to attack the enemy, until he did it first. But here are some of the commanders who had a different opinion. As a result, they decided to hire the best scientists to study objects. And one of the scientists who turned up such a unique opportunity, and became Louise. And now she has to try to parse an alien language and understand what kind of message they are trying to convey to us. In this difficult matter, an experienced nuclear physicist will help her. The next few weeks will forever change the main character's ideas about the world around us ...
Producer
The director of such a large-scale project was the Canadian Denis Villeneuve, who until recently was considered the director of the author's inexpensive films. In particular, on his account such high-quality thrillers as “Fires”, “Prisoners” and “Enemy”. All these films seriously differed from the typical mass cinema and were exclusively enjoyed by moviegoers. However, Hollywood producers were not afraid to entrust Arrival to Villeneuve.
This is most likely due to the fact that the film did not focus on elements familiar to the science fiction genre, such as action, suspense, and special effects. Arrival (2016), an overview of which is brought to your attention in the article, was more like a classic drama. The only difference is the presence of spaceships and aliens (which for the entire film are practically not shown to us). So Denis Villeneuve came in handy. As a result, he managed to create his most expensive and grossing project, which was well received by people. This allowed the director to settle down firmly in Hollywood and begin work on equally cool films, such as Blade Runner 2047 and Dune.
Cast
The film “Arrival” receives laudatory reviews for the excellent play of the actors. The cast of this film included only three eminent actors, who are known to the mass audience. It was they who were given the main time. So in 2 hours they were able to fully reveal the characters of their characters and fulfill truly brilliant roles that will definitely be included in the list of the best for their entire career.
Amy adams
The role of the linguist Louise went to the incomparable Amy Adams. In recent years, she has managed to establish herself as a versatile actress, who can work in a variety of cinematic genres. And "Arrival" was another confirmation of this. In the movie, she appeared in a dramatic image, which she played flawlessly. With her game, she overshadowed any member of the cast. So it is safe to say that the success of Arrival is at least 50% due to the participation of Amy Adams in it.
Amy Adams began her career at a young age. At that time, she played mainly in the theater. In the movie, she received exclusively episodic and not the most significant roles. After several unsuccessful trials, she still got a minor role in Steven Spielberg's cult film, “Catch Me If You Can.” That's just the real fame came to her after the independent film "The June Beetle", filmed in 2005. And only after that her career quickly went uphill. You can also enjoy acting as Amy Adams in the following films, which we highly recommend for viewing: Enchanted, Doubt, Big Eyes, and Under the Cover of the Night.
Jeremy Renner
The main male role was played by the no less famous American actor Jeremy Renner. Astrophysicist Ian Donnelly in his performance turned out to be quite convincing. That's just against the background of the more colorful character Amy Adams, he is clearly lost. And here the fault is not so much Renner as the script as a whole. The entire film, Ian Donnelly is an assistant, playing in this whole story is not the most significant role. But in general, participation in the Renner film was a pleasant addition for connoisseurs of excellent acting.
Jeremy Renner played the first major role in 2007. Then he got a secondary role as a shooter in the apocalyptic horror "28 weeks later." But the real fame came to the actor a little later. We are talking about the military action movie "Lord of the Storm", released in 2007. For her, the actor was awarded all sorts of praises from both the audience and critics. But Renner’s mass audience is known for his recent hits Avengers, Mission Impossible, and The Bourne Evolution.
Forest Whitaker
The secondary role went to the much more experienced and slightly less well-known to our viewer African-American actor Forest Whitaker. He played the role of Colonel Weber. It was his character who opted for the candidatures of Louise and Ian to participate in such an important study. There is not much time on the screen of Forest Whitaker, but the charisma of this experienced actor is remembered.
Over his long career, Forest managed to try his hand at a variety of different genres and roles. Often he appeared in the background, but in rare cases he still managed to get the main roles. And, as a rule, he used his chances perfectly. What is the silent samurai from the movie Jarmusch, whom he played in 1999? But the main success was waiting for Whitaker after participating in the drama "The Last King of Scotland". For the sake of the film, he even had to gain a couple of tens of extra pounds. As a result, the role was marked by many nominations and prizes.
The film "Arrival": reviews of viewers
The film had a fairly low budget by modern standards of $ 40 million. However, a large-scale advertising campaign allowed Arrival to eventually become a box office hit. So, this film was watched not only by connoisseurs of films with philosophical implications, but also by the mass audience. The former, as expected, were indescribably delighted with what they saw on the screen. The reason for this was a quality scenario with an unexpected end. Also, many were struck by the leisurely, one might even say the meditative pace of the narrative. In this case, he allowed to feel better the atmosphere, without being distracted by unnecessary editing and computer effects.
However, the mass audience in this case was divided into approximately two camps. The first film in general was liked, but to others it seemed incredibly boring. But this can be explained by the fact that in the end they simply did not understand the idea inherent in Arrival, which turned out to be too unobvious for them. Also, the reason could be that they expected a classic blockbuster, of which the film, of course, is not.
In general, the film "Arrival" (2016) received reviews (the rating is quite high - 8-8.2 points out of 10 possible) received both positive and negative. This is quite predictable for such a non-standard movie.
The film "Arrival" (2016): reviews from critics
As always, critics and journalists were able to appreciate this masterpiece even at press shows and various festivals held around the world. The film "Arrival" received critical acclaim from critics. They unanimously praised this project of Villeneuve even before going on a wide rental. Just the same, “Arrival” seemed to them a breath of fresh air for the whole genre. For example, the most famous film critic of Russia - Anton Dolin - noted that the film is still difficult to attribute to science fiction. Rather, it is a linguistic drama. Moreover, unique and one of a kind. And with this statement it is difficult to argue. Many other critics supported him in this statement.
Awards
The motion picture was nominated for many of the largest European and American awards, which is rare for films shot in this genre. Initially, the picture was marked with nominations for the Golden Globe Award in the categories of Best Actress (Amy Adams) and Best Soundtrack. However, the filmmakers failed to win. But at the Oscars, Arrival was waiting for much more opportunities for victory. There, the film received the following nominations: "Best Film", "Best Director" (Denis Villeneuve), "Best Adapted Screenplay", "Best Cinematography", "Best Sound", "Best Editing", "Best Artistic Work" and "Best sound montage." However, the figurines were awarded only the last option.
Total
The film "Arrival", perhaps, did not become a milestone in the history of cinema. And it is unlikely that after decades anyone will perceive it as one hundred percent classic. However, connoisseurs of the genre will definitely like this movie. The creators worked on every detail to remove a decent adaptation of the cult work, adding a lot of new elements to it. Absolutely all, without exception, coped with their task. So, if you missed this movie, we recommend that you familiarize yourself. You definitely will not regret the time spent!