Arrival (2016)
Dir. Denis Villeneuve
I know Arrival is beloved, and I completely understand why. The concept is fascinating, the cinematography is beautiful, and the idea of language fundamentally changing how we understand time is genuinely cool.
But I was bored.
Denis Villeneuve creates this enormous sense of mystery around the aliens and their language, and I kept waiting for the film to emotionally click with me. Instead, I felt increasingly detached from the story. The reveal involving Louise’s daughter is supposed to completely recontextualize everything we’ve watched, but it didn’t hit me as hard as I think it was intended to.
Amy Adams is wonderful, though. She brings a quiet sadness to Louise that gives the film most of its emotional weight. I just wish I connected with the material around her more.
I can appreciate what Arrival is doing without necessarily enjoying the experience of watching it. Beautiful, thoughtful, ambitious, and absolutely not for me.
