Arrival

The best science fiction film of our time.

There, I said it. Have I seen every science fiction film of our time? No. Still haven't gotten back to Lucy or Gravity, still haven't picked up Annihilation or Blade Runner 2049, still haven't subjected myself to Valerian or Independence Day: Resurgence. Don't care. This is a hill I'll gladly die on. Arrival is the greatest science fiction film of our time.

Why, you may ask? Why is this slow, cerebral film the epitome of sci-fi storytelling? Well, loads of reasons, actually! I'm glad you asked. Let's discuss.

Before we discuss, you should check out this post for a quick primer on the high level of what sci-fi is as a genre. All caught up? Good. Now let's dig a bit deeper into one of the core components of sci-fi, which is humanity. Good sci-fi will always circle back around to the most familiar and mundane thing on Earth; us. The basic gist of any sci-fi story is "humanity confronts the unknown and seeks understanding". You'll see a lot of dystopias in sci-fi, because "humanity confronts the unknown" can easily be rendered as "humanity faces an uncertain future". Those stories can function as both cautionary tales and a reminder that uncertainty truly becomes a monster when we lose our humanity.

But my personal preference in sci-fi storytelling is for the more optimistic rendering of "confronting the unknown", which runs a little something like "humanity boldly goes where no-one has gone before".

You frequenters will obviously not be surprised by that revelation. That's what Star Trek is. Humanity brazenly throwing themselves into the unknown, eagerly seeking new things to understand and new ways to grow, secure in the knowledge that whatever threats or problems they find out there their humanity will carry them through. It's the embodiment of the idea that together, as a species, we can accomplish anything. Life without limits by virtue of simply being our best selves. It's a beautiful message.

So we'll start there. Arrival is clearly not a dystopia, not by any stretch. Humanity, as a species, is suddenly confronted by the unknown. Not apparently hostile, not apparently friendly, not apparently anything at all other than different. And then, through the course of the story, we seek understanding, and with that understanding we learn things about ourselves we might not have otherwise learned.

The story is beautifully told. It begins almost obviously, predictably, before becoming incredibly confusing, leaving you with difficult questions it then answers without any pretense. No need for narration or exposition dumps, no unanswered concerns at the end, just a final understanding and resolution. It's everything 2001: A Space Odyssey tried (but failed) to be with its mystery, or Interstellar tried (but failed) to be with its overly-explanatory dialogue. Simple, easy to understand, but not obvious or condescending.

The characterization is rapid, full, and engaging. The characters are performed excellently, and together they form a cast that is genuinely interesting and sympathetic. Tension between the characters and the situations they are in propagates effectively, driving the story while maintaining a solemnity that feels totally appropriate for a central conflict that revolves around linguistics.

Also, central conflict that revolves around linguistics. This movie is seriously perfect.

There is emotion and drama without unrealistic dramatics. As a species, as individuals, there are actions and reactions to relate to that ask nothing of your suspension of disbelief. Everything fantastic is presented as real, and it all feels as real as it needs to in order to convey the meaning of what this movie is all about. And in the end, what this movie is all about...

Well, that's going to depend a lot on you, as a viewer. I'm not going to tell you what it meant to me, because it will likely be different than what it would mean to you, and simply describing the meaning I took from it could ruin one of the best third acts I've ever seen in a movie. But whatever the movie winds up meaning to you, one thing is for sure; that meaning is delivered by a sci-fi story package that I feel is utterly unparalleled.

The story construction, the character building, the technicalities of the production, every component piece of this film serves to support one specific high-minded ideal; that there is a lot out there that we don't understand, but in the end whatever intersection of biology and psychology it is that drives the best parts of humanity will face it.

Face it, understand it, and become better as a result. Does that sound overly optimistic? Maybe. But think about this; would you rather be "realistic" or solve the greatest problems in the universe together?