The next film on our list is as different as different could be, both within its genre and this category. And it’s a space movie, which all avid Write Readers know I actively avoid. (Please see the Gravity post for further explanation.)
Arrival, starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Forest Whitaker, is a science fiction film adapted from the 1998 short story “Story of your Life” by Ted Chiang. It was directed by Denis Villeneuve, and adapted by Eric Heisserer. It was nominated for 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Spoiler alerts ahead.
In Arrival, we open hearing Louise Banks (Adams) speak to her daughter, talking to her about her life. We see her as a baby, we see her growing up, and we see her death. After this flashback, we get Louise at her job, teaching students, as a linguist, when the arrival takes place. They get news of 12 pods of unknown origins, which have appeared in 12 locations around the globe, one being in Montana. The world is paralyzed with fear. What are they? Where did they come from? And what do they want? Banks, it seems, has worked with the military before, and very soon Colonel Weber, played by Whitaker, knocks on her door, to get her help communicating with the pods. On the way to Montana, Louise is introduced to physicist Ian Donnelly, played by Jeremy Renner. They make contact with two aliens, which they come to nickname Abbot and Costello, since humans are incapable of pronouncing these beings’ true names. The heptapods (since they are seven-limbed) begin to communicate, slowly 
but surely, with Louise and Ian, though they are continuously rushed to find out the answer to the real question- what is your purpose here on Earth? Their complex written, non-linear language made up of written, mostly circular symbols, is challenging to interpret, and Louise gets the message “offer weapon”. Disconcerting as this message may be, one of the other sites has received the message “use weapon” and everyone is in turmoil. Louise is not deterred, and presses on to get more information. She and Ian re-enter the pod in order to get some clarification without realizing some overzealous and rogue soldiers have put a bomb inside the pod in order to kill the aliens (to what end I have no idea). It is during this communication that they receive the entire message, which is enormous and filled with dozens and dozens of these symbols. Abbott knows about the bomb and attempts to inform Louise with little success, so he ejects Louise and Ian from the pod before the bomb goes off.
When Louise comes to, she discovers that everyone is going to evacuate and that China has decided to attack the aliens. The alien pod has relocated farther away from Earth, which honestly seems like a good idea since they just got blown up. Louise goes back in (they send down an alien shuttle) and she is taken inside to talk to Costello. Did I mention this whole time Louise has been having visions of a child? My bad, I left that part out. So she’s been having these visions/dreams of a child she doesn’t recognize. Why she informs no one of these dreams I have absolutely no idea as it seems pretty pertinent, but that’s neither here nor there. We discover that Louise has been having these dreams as she’s been learning the language, because the language is the “weapon”, which is actually a gift. Being able to speak the heptapod’s language gives one the ability to see time in all directions because their language has no time, or goes beyond time, or because it’s non-linear…honestly it’s not that clear. The point is, these visions have been visions of the future, of Louise’s future child which she will have with Ian. As it turns out, the heptapods came to give the language as a gift because being the future-seeing, timeless beings that they are, they know that they will need help from the humans 3000 years from now and so them being able to communicate is going to be important. Louise uses her future-seeing abilities to see the future where she is being lauded at a UN gala for having stopped the attack, and she sees that she did so by calling the Chinese general on his personal cell phone and telling him the last words his wife said to him before she died. Why this is the thing that would stop a war I have no clue. But again, not on me. The world is saved, Ian and Louise discover that they’re in love, and Louise agrees to marry Ian and have a baby with him, even though she can see the future and knows her daughter will die.
Caught up? Cool.
So what’s great about this movie is the aliens. The aliens are the best part, really. They are made complex and fascinating, and kind! When is the last time you encountered a kind alien? It’s been a while, am I right? But they’re lovely, and gentle, and do their best not to scare the freaked out humans. And they’re just trying to cooperate and share their gift. These are some excellent aliens. Adams, as Louise is also great. She is transfixed with these beings, as Ian is with her. And Jeremy Renner is, well, Jeremy Renner, and he doesn’t really convince anyone that he’s a mild-mannered scientist when we all know he’s really Hawkeye and at any moment, The Avengers are going to come running around the corner with a Hulk, just in case the aliens get out of hand. I mean, what else was he doing there, really? We know he’s a watcher. This is really a Marvel, Joss Whedon film. I have no regrets. Back to what I was saying. Amy Adams is lovely, although pretty standardly herself in this film, and Renner is himself, which is Hawkeye, pretending to be a scientist. He does say lots of super smart words, and seems rather believable, but the most believable part of his performance is his care for Louise, which is terrible because Age of Ultron already revealed that Hawkeye is already married. I have digressed yet again.
My favorite part, by far, is the cinematography, which is lucky, since Arrival is up for an Oscar in this category. This film is visually stunning. The pods are stunning, the heptapods are unbelievable, the entire thing is beautifully rendered. The flashbacks (which are really flash forwards) are rather mind-blowing if I say so myself. They’re simple, they enter into focus, and then we’re left with the stark reality of the bunk Louise is sleeping in, or the medical tent, or the desk she’s been sitting at all night. This movie is really wonderfully made in all ways, just not as wonderfully made as some of the other films it’s up against.
The thing I love about this movie and the reason I think it’s so delightful is that it’s neither apocalyptic nor lonely. We humans, possibly specifically Western humans, have a fascination/terror with/of space. We are convinced that there is life out there, and that whatever life is out there is ready to come and take what’s ours at any moment. It’s so odd, and frankly a bit depressing. This movie defies all of that, with the idea that these aliens might actually come to help us, might know that working together is the best way for us to all survive in these lonely galaxies of ours. I mean, it’s not as though they’re close together, right? Nor are there that many life-sustaining planets hanging about. And we’ve got to stick together through stormy weather, that’s my motto. (It isn’t really, but for the purposes of this review it is.) Why must we always assume that whatever else is out there has been lying in wait to wipe us all out? I mean we’re doing a pretty good job of it ourselves, why would they even need to bother? They can just wait until we raise global temperatures enough. (But that’s none of my business.) The point is, I love the outlook of this film. I love the message, time is irrelevant. I love the story. I would read it. I plan to read it. I bet the book is better than the movie! (They always are.) I don’t necessarily think it’s the best thing I’ve ever seen, but it’s beautifully made, it’s thoughtfully written, the acting works well enough, and it’s a fun viewing experience.
Frankly, as compared to the other members of this category, it feels a little bit fluffy, though no less entertaining than any of the others. It seems unlikely to do much damage when up against the other films, but it’s certainly a wonderful film and well worth the watch.