Jump to content

Arrival (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by CLSYPH3 (talk | contribs) at 06:51, 11 November 2016 (→‎Critical response). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For the 1996 science fiction film, see The Arrival (1996 film)

Arrival
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDenis Villeneuve
Screenplay byEric Heisserer
Starring
CinematographyBradford Young
Edited byJoe Walker
Music byJóhann Jóhannsson
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release dates
  • September 1, 2016 (2016-09-01) (Venice)
  • November 11, 2016 (2016-11-11) (United States)
Running time
116 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$47 million[2][3]

Arrival is a 2016 American science fiction drama film directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Eric Heisserer, based on the short story "Story of Your Life" by author Ted Chiang. The film stars Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg and Tzi Ma.

Arrival had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 1, 2016 and is scheduled to be released in the United States on November 11, 2016 in IMAX by Paramount Pictures. Arrival has received critical acclaim from critics upon its release.[4][5]

Plot

Twelve alien spacecraft land around the world. The locations are not correlated to large cities or any geographic information. Dr. Louise Banks, a university professor specializing in linguistics, is enlisted by the military to communicate with a race of aliens nicknamed the Heptapods. An elite team is put together to investigate, including linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams), mathematician Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), and US Army Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker).

The team finds a 1500 meter tall, thin black spacecraft. After initial confusion, Banks determines that the Heptapods have two distinct forms of language. Heptapod A is their spoken language, which is described as having free word order and many levels of center-embedded clauses. Unlike its spoken counterpart, Heptapod B has such complex structure that a single semantic symbol cannot be excluded without changing the entire meaning of a sentence. When writing in Heptapod B, the writer knows how the sentence will end. The phenomenon of Heptapod B is explained by the aliens' understanding of mathematics and Fermat's principle of least time.

Dr. Banks's understanding of the heptapods' writing system affects the way she perceives time and suggests a deterministic universe where free will is exercised by not affecting the outcome of events.

As Dr. Louise Banks tries to learn the Heptapod B language and correlate the written language to the Heptapod A spoken language, she beings to dream and "remember" instances in the future. This is explained as being not unlike a person dreaming and thinking in their second language after prolonged exposure to that language.

As time is not linear to the Heptapods, the Heptapods exist over all times simultaneously much like a God would exist over all places.

The twelve teams of Earth scientists have regular teleconferences, but do not discuss details of their communications with the Heptapods. Amongst humanity, and likely due a miscommunication the Chinese leader gives an ultimatum before an attack due to a miscommunication over the Heptapod words for "weapon" and "tool".

Banks prevented the potential uprising by calling Shung on his cell phone and repeating the words his wife had said on her deathbed. Because Banks now thought time-dependent, she "recalled" meeting Shung 18 months later at a benefit where he thanked her and told her his fallen wife's words and showed her his cell phone number. She called Shung with this knowledge and convinced him to pull back his military forces.

China's military fell back strategically, and the 12 Heptapod crafts faded away as to likely be transported to another place or time.

Banks knows the future of her courtship with Donnelly and creation of Hannah, a palindrome name that represents the Heptapod language. Donnelly ultimately leaves when Banks tells him their fate that they split up and Hannah dies of a rare disease at a young age. Banks, knowing the future, makes a conscious decision to court Donnelly and proceed with the life and death of her daughter Hannah despite knowing the tragic outcome.

Cast

Production

Villeneuve had wanted to make a science fiction film for some time although he "never found the right thing."[6] Meanwhile screenwriter Eric Heisserer had been trying to pitch an adaptation of Story of Your Life to no great success for years, and by the time producers Cohen and Levine approached him about a potential sci-fi project had largely given up on the idea. [7] Cohen and Levine however introduced Villeneuve to the novella which the director immediately took to, although his work on Prisoners meant that he did not have the time to properly adapt it into a screenplay.[6] Cohen and Levine meanwhile were able to get a first draft completed which Villeneuve later reworked into a finished script.[6] Villeneuve ended up changing the title in part because the resulting script became so far removed from the short story as well as the fact that "it sounded more like a romantic comedy."[6] Although Villeneuve by his recollection went through "hundreds" of possible titles, the resulting title, Arrival, was the first one the team came up with.[6]

Jeremy Renner joined the film on March 6, 2015 to play a physics professor paired by the government with Adams' character to help communicate with the aliens.[8] Forest Whitaker signed on to the film in April 2015, with Michael Stuhlbarg joining the cast as CIA Agent Halpern that June.[9][10]

Filming began in mid-June 2015, right after Renner completed the shooting of Captain America: Civil War.[8] Principal photography on the film began on June 7, 2015 in Montréal, Québec, Canada.[11][12]

Music

Jóhann Jóhannsson began writing the score around the time the shooting had commenced, drawing on the screenplay and concept art for inspiration. He developed one of the main themes in the first week using vocals and experimental piano loops.[13]

Release

A teaser trailer was released in August 2016 followed the next week by the first official trailer.[14] Paramount Pictures released a series of posters to promote the film, with one showing a UFO hovering above Hong Kong's skyline which included Shanghai's Oriental Pearl Tower. The inaccuracy angered many Hong Kong social media users. The posters were taken down and a statement was made which attributed the inaccuracy to a third party vendor.[15]

In May 2014, Paramount Pictures acquired U.S distribution rights to the film.[16] Shortly after, Sony Pictures and Stage 6 Films acquired international distribution rights to the film.[17] The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 1, 2016.[18] The film will also screen at the Toronto International Film Festival.[19][20] Telluride Film Festival,[21] and the BFI London Film Festival.[22] The film is scheduled to be released on November 11, 2016.[23][24]

Reception

Box office

Arrival will be released alongside Almost Christmas and Shut In and is expected to gross around $17 million from 2,200 theaters in its opening weekend, with the studio projecting a more conservative debut of $12–15 million.[2]

Critical response

Arrival has received critical acclaim. On the review-aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 96%, based on 153 reviews, with an average rating of 8.5/10. The site's consensus reads, "Arrival delivers a must-see experience for fans of thinking person's sci-fi that anchors its heady themes with genuinely affecting emotion and a terrific performance from Amy Adams."[25] On Metacritic the film has a score of 82 out of 100, based on 48 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[26]

Dave Robinson of outlet Crash Landed awarded the film 5 stars (out of 5), touting Arrival as "[a] masterclass of filmmaking by director Denis Villeneuve and crew" with a high-concept, science fiction story that feels "deep and profound" and "will leave you stunned in contemplation as it fades to black".[27]

Accolades

Awards
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
Venice Film Festival September 10, 2016 Future Film Festival Digital Award Denis Villeneuve Won [28]
Golden Lion Denis Villeneuve Nominated

See also

References

  1. ^ "Arrival (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. September 19, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  2. ^ a b "'Doctor Strange' to hold off 'Arrival' and 'Almost Christmas' at the box office". Los Angeles Times.
  3. ^ "Arrival (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  4. ^ Arrival, retrieved November 10, 2016
  5. ^ Arrival, retrieved November 10, 2016
  6. ^ a b c d e Tartaglione, Nancy. "Denis Villeneuve Talks 'Arrival', "A Vacation From Darkness" & The "Berserk" Risk Of 'Blade Runner' Sequel – Venice Q&A". Deadline. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  7. ^ Calia, Michael. "A New Story in Sci-Fi Writer Ted Chiang's Life: Hollywood". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  8. ^ a b Kit, Borys (March 6, 2015). "Jeremy Renner Joins Amy Adams in Sci-Fi 'Story of Your Life' (Exclusive)". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  9. ^ Kroll, Justin (April 1, 2015). "Forest Whitaker Eyes 'Story of Your Life' With Amy Adams (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  10. ^ White, James (June 17, 2015). "Michael Stuhlbarg Joins Story Of Your Life". Empireonline. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  11. ^ "On the Set for 6/8/15: Paul Feig & Melissa Mccarthy Start Shooting Ghostbusters, Ryan Reynolds Finishes Off Deadpool & More". ssninsider.com. June 8, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  12. ^ "Amy Adams, Jennifer Garner spotted in Montreal as Hollywood filming heats up". Montreal Gazette. June 7, 2015.
  13. ^ Weintraub, Steve (October 26, 2016). "Composer Jóhann Jóhannsson on 'Arrival', Preparing to Score 'Blade Runner 2049', and More". Collider.com (Complex Media). Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  14. ^ Sharf, Zack. "'Arrival' Official Trailer: Amy Adams and Denis Villeneuve Make Alien Contact In Ambitious Sci-Fi Drama". Indiewire.com. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  15. ^ "Hong Kong outrage at 'Arrival' poster skyline blunder". BBC. August 19, 2016. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  16. ^ "Cannes: Paramount Confirms 'Story Of Your Life' Acquisition; $20 Million Is Fest Record Deal". Deadline. May 14, 2014.
  17. ^ McNary, Dave (May 18, 2014). "Cannes: Amy Adams Sci-Fier 'Story of Your Life' Sold to Sony for Most Territories". Variety. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  18. ^ Vivarelli, Nick (July 21, 2016). "Tom Ford's 'Nocturnal Animals,' Villeneuve's 'Arrival,' new Kusturica Headed for Venice (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  19. ^ Erbland, Kate (July 26, 2016). "TIFF Reveals First Slate of 2016 Titles, Including 'Magnificent Seven,' 'American Honey,' 'La La Land' and 'Birth of A Nation'". Indiewire.com. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  20. ^ "Arrival". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  21. ^ Hammond, Pete (September 1, 2016). "Telluride Film Festival Lineup: 'Sully', 'La La Land', 'Arrival', 'Bleed For This' & More". Deadline.com. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  22. ^ "Arrival". BFI London Film Festival. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  23. ^ "Denis Villeneuve's 'Story of Your Life' Gets Possible New Title, UK Release Date".
  24. ^ Hipes, Patrick (June 16, 2016). "Paramount Dates Its Splashy Amy Adams Sci-Fi Tale 'Arrival' For Awards Season". Deadline.com. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  25. ^ "Arrival (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  26. ^ "Arrival reviews". CBS Interactive. Metacritic. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  27. ^ Robinson, Dave (November 11, 2016). "Arrival - Film Review". Crash Landed. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  28. ^ "Venice Film Festival: Golden Lion To 'The Woman Who Left'; Tom Ford's 'Nocturnal Animals', Emma Stone Take Major Prizes – Full List". Deadline.com. September 11, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arrival_(film)&oldid=748928698"