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Arrival (film)

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This article is about the 2016 film. For other films, see Arrival (disambiguation).

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 Film Festival)
  • November 11, 2016 (2016-11-11) (United States)
Running time
116 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$47 million[2][3]
Box office$198 million[3]

Arrival is a 2016 American science fiction film directed by Denis Villeneuve. The screenplay by Eric Heisserer was based on the 1998 short story "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang. The film stars Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker.[4]

Arrival had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 1, 2016, and was released in the United States and Canada on November 11, 2016, in IMAX by Paramount Pictures. The film grossed $197 million worldwide and received critical acclaim, particularly for its atmosphere, intelligent science fiction storyline, and Adams's performance. The American Film Institute selected it as one of ten Movies of the Year,[5] and at the 89th Academy Awards it won the award for Best Sound Editing, as well as nominations for seven others including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It also received Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress for Adams and Best Original Score.[6]

Plot

A sequence of brief scenes follows a mother's relationship with her daughter, from her birth through childhood to her premature death in adolescence from an incurable disease.

The mother, linguist Louise Banks, is lecturing at a Massachusetts university when twelve extraterrestrial spacecraft land across the Earth. U.S. Army colonel G.T. Weber asks Louise to join physicist Ian Donnelly and find out why they have come. She is brought to an army camp in Montana near one of the spacecraft.

They make contact with two seven-limbed aliens, whom they call "heptapods"; Ian nicknames them Abbott and Costello. Louise discovers that they have a written language of complicated circular symbols, and she begins to learn a basic vocabulary. As she becomes more proficient, she starts to have visions of herself with her daughter and of their relationship with the absent father.

When Louise finally asks why the aliens have come to Earth, they answer "offer weapon". An alternate translation of "use weapon" is made at another site. This leads China to break off communications with the rest of the world; other nations also stop exchanging information. However, Louise argues that the symbol interpreted as "weapon" might mean "tool".

Rogue soldiers plant a bomb in the spacecraft. Unaware of this, Louise and Ian re-enter the ship. The aliens give them a much larger, more complex message. Just before the bomb explodes, Abbott ejects Ian and Louise from the craft, leaving them unconscious. When Louise and Ian reawaken, the military is preparing to evacuate, and the spacecraft rises and hovers well out of reach. Ian notices that the symbol for time is present throughout the message, and that the writing occupies exactly one-twelfth of the space. Louise suggests this means the aliens must want nations to cooperate.

Meanwhile, China's General Shang has issued an ultimatum to the aliens, demanding they leave Chinese territory within 24 hours, and prepares to attack. Russia, Pakistan, and Sudan follow China's lead. Louise believes that evacuating is a mistake and that continued presence and attempts to communicate are needed. She goes out alone on her own initiative to the field under the alien spacecraft. The spacecraft sends down a shuttle to bring Louise inside. When only Costello appears, she asks about Abbott and is told Abbott is dead or dying. Louise then asks who the child in her visions is. Costello explains that she is seeing the future (her "visions" are not flashbacks, but flashforwards). Costello says that they have come to help humanity because in 3,000 years they will need humanity's help in return. It is their language that is the "weapon" or "tool": those who master it have their perception of time altered, and can see what we would call the future.

Louise returns as the camp is being evacuated. She has a vision of herself at a future United Nations event, being thanked by Shang for making him change his mind about attacking the aliens. He tells her that she called his private telephone number and shows it to her. In the present, Louise steals a satellite phone and calls him, but does not know what to say at first. Her vision continues, with Shang explaining that she convinced him by repeating his wife's dying words in Mandarin, which he tells Louise.[nb 1] In the present, Louise recites those words to Shang. The Chinese hold an emergency press conference to announce they are standing down militarily and are releasing their twelfth of the message. Russia does the same and others follow. The twelve spacecraft then disappear from Earth.

Meanwhile, during evacuation of the camp, Ian indicates his love for Louise. They discuss life choices, and whether they would change them if they could know the future. Louise knows already that Ian will father her daughter Hannah, but will later leave her when she reveals she knew all along that Hannah will die prematurely. She also knows that, when Ian will ask her if she wants to "make a baby", she will agree, despite knowing her fate.

Cast

Production

Villeneuve had wanted to make a science fiction film for some time, although he "never found the right thing."[10] Meanwhile, screenwriter Eric Heisserer had unsuccessfully been pitching an adaptation of Ted Chiang's short story "Story of Your Life" for years, and by the time producers Dan Cohen and Dan Levine approached him about a potential sci-fi project, he had largely given up on the idea.[11] 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.[10] Cohen and Levine were able to get a first draft completed, which Villeneuve later reworked into a finished script.[10] Villeneuve ended up changing the title, partly because the resulting script became so far removed from the short story, as well as sounding "more like a romantic comedy".[10] Although Villeneuve remembered going through "hundreds" of possible titles, the eventual title was the first one the team had suggested.[10]

Heisserer said that earlier versions of the script had a different ending: the gift from the heptapods was to have been "blueprints to an interstellar ship, like an ark of sorts", to enable humanity to help them in 3,000 years. But after the release of Interstellar in 2014, Heisserer and Villeneuve agreed that this would not work, and decided that the heptapods' gift would be what was "there in front of us ... the power of their language".[12][13]

Jeremy Renner joined the film on March 6, 2015, to play a physics professor.[14] Forest Whitaker signed on in April 2015, with Michael Stuhlbarg joining as CIA Agent Halpern that June.[15][16] Linguistics professor Dr. Jessica Coon was brought on to consult with Amy Adams.[17]

Principal photography lasted for 56 days, commencing on June 7, 2015 after Renner had finished on Captain America: Civil War.[14] The shooting was done mainly in and around Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with St. Fabien-sur-Mer serving as Montana. The team took some time to find the right site to represent the landing, because producers wanted to avoid a mountainous site that might dwarf the scale of the ship, but thought that a barren location would be clichéd.[18] Most of the filming that did not involve the exterior of a spacecraft was done indoors on stages, although a real house was used as Louise's home.[18] The scenes of the university where Louise teaches were shot at the HEC Montréal.[19]

The script used language designed by artist Martine Bertrand (wife of the production designer Patrice Vermette), based on the scriptwriter's original concept. Stephen Wolfram[20] and Christopher Wolfram[21] analysed it to provide the basis for Louise's work in the film.[22][23] Three linguists from McGill University[24] were consulted. The sound files for the alien language were created with consultation from Morgan Sonderegger, a phonetics expert. Lisa Travis was consulted for set design during the construction of the protagonist's workplaces. Jessica Coon, a Canada Research Chair in Syntax and Indigenous Languages, was consulted for her linguistics expertise during review of the script.[25]

Music

Untitled

Jóhann Jóhannsson began writing the score as shooting started, drawing on the screenplay and concept art for his inspiration. He developed one of the main themes in the first week using vocals and experimental piano loops.[26]

Max Richter's piece "On the Nature of Daylight" is featured in the film's opening and closing scenes. Due to the prominent use of Richter's music in the final film, Jóhannsson's score was deemed ineligible for the Academy Award for Best Original Score, with the rationale being that voters would be influenced by the use of pre-existing music when judging the merits of the score.[27]

The official soundtrack was released by Deutsche Grammophon on November 11, 2016. All music was composed by Jóhannsson.

No.TitleLength
1."Arrival"2:51
2."Heptapod B"3:42
3."Sapir-Whorf"1:17
4."Hydraulic Lift"3:32
5."First Encounter"4:50
6."Transmutation at a Distance"1:35
7."Around the Clock News"1:35
8."Xenolinguistics"3:29
9."Ultimatum"1:52
10."Principle of Least Time"1:20
11."Hazmat"4:49
12."Hammers and Nails"2:32
13."Xenoanthropology"3:08
14."Non-Zero-Sum Game"4:18
15."Properties of Explosive Materials"3:31
16."Escalation"2:02
17."Decyphering"2:05
18."One of Twelve"3:09
19."Rise"1:47
20."Kangaru"2:56
Total length:56:20

Release

A teaser trailer was released in August 2016, followed the next week by the first official trailer.[28] Paramount Pictures released a series of promotional posters, with one showing a UFO hovering above a Hong Kong skyline that included Shanghai's Oriental Pearl Tower. The inaccuracy angered Hong Kong social media users. The posters were withdrawn and a statement attributed the inaccuracy to a third party vendor.[29]

In May 2014, Paramount acquired the U.S. and Canadian distribution rights.[30] Shortly after, Sony Pictures Releasing International and Stage 6 Films acquired some international distribution rights.[31] The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 1, 2016.[32] It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival,[33][34] Telluride Film Festival,[35] and the BFI London Film Festival.[36] The film was released on November 11, 2016.[37][38]

Home media

Arrival was released on Digital HD on January 31, 2017[39] and on Blu-ray and DVD on February 14, 2017.[40][41]

Reception

Box office

Arrival grossed $100.5 million in the United States and Canada and $97.4 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $197.9 million, against a production budget of $47 million.[3]

Arrival was released alongside Almost Christmas and Shut In, and was originally expected to gross around $17 million from 2,317 theaters in its opening weekend, with the studio projecting a more conservative debut of $12–15 million.[2] The film made $1.4 million from Thursday night previews at 1,944 theaters and $9.4 million on its first day, pushing projections up to $24 million. It ended up grossing $24.1 million over the weekend, finishing third at the box office.[42] In its second weekend, the film grossed $12.1 million (a drop of 49.6%), and in its third made $11.5 million (dropping just 5.6%).[43] Following receiving its eight Oscar nominations, the film returned to 1,221 theaters on January 27, 2017 (an increase of 1,041 from the week before) and grossed $1.5 million (up 357.4% from its previous week's $321,411).[44]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 94% based on 309 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. The site's critical 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."[45] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 81 out of 100, based on 52 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[46] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[47]

Brian Tallerico, from RogerEbert.com, gave the film three out of four: "It's a movie designed to simultaneously challenge viewers, move them and get them talking. For the most part, it succeeds."[48] At Time.com, Sam Lansky described it as "sophisticated, grownup sci-fi: a movie about aliens for people who don't like movies about aliens."[49] The Atlantic writer Christopher Orr said that: "Arrival, the remarkable new film by Denis Villeneuve, begins aptly enough with an arrival—though perhaps not the kind you would expect."[50] IGN reviewer Chris Tilly gave it a score of 8.5 out of 10, saying: "Arrival is a language lesson masquerading as a blockbuster, though much more entertaining than that sounds. The film features shades of Interstellar, Contact and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but never feels derivative. Rather it’s smart, sophisticated sci-fi that asks BIG questions, and does a pretty good job of answering them."[51]

British film critic Robbie Collin gave Arrival five out of five, calling it: "introspective, philosophical and existentially inclined – yet it unfolds in an unwavering tenor of chest-tightening excitement. And there is a mid-film revelation – less a sudden twist than sleek unwinding of everything you think you know – that feels, when it hits you, like your seat is tipping back."[52]

The UK newspaper The Guardian rated it as the third best film of 2016.[53] Critic Catherine Shoard said that it "amounts to something transcendent; something to reignite your excitement for cinema, for life."[54] Numerous other publications, including io9,[55] Den of Geek,[56] WhatCulture,[57] Mir Fantastiki,[58] The Atlantic,[59] Blastr,[60] and Digital Trends[61] named Arrival the best movie of 2016.

Accolades

Main article: List of accolades received by Arrival

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Screenwriter Eric Heisserer revealed at the Alamo Drafthouse's Fantastic Fest premiere of the film at the end of September 2016,[7] that Shang's wife's last words, translated into English, were "In war, there are no winners, only widows."[8] Director Denis Villeneuve decided not to include subtitles for Louise's line and so keep it a mystery; Heisserer said he would have preferred it not be kept secret, and was happy to reveal the translation at the Fest.[9]

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. ^ a b c "Arrival (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  4. ^ Dargis, Manohla (November 10, 2016). "Review: Aliens Drop Anchor in 'Arrival,' but What Are Their Intentions?". New York Times. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  5. ^ Hipes, Patrick (December 8, 2016). "AFI Awards: Best Of 2016 List Includes 'Silence', 'Hacksaw Ridge' & More". Deadline.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2016. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; December 22, 2016 suggested (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "Golden Globes 2017: The Complete List of Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. December 12, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ Patches, Matt (September 30, 2016). "Aliens, Mosh Pits, and Satanic Rituals: 72 Hours at America's Wildest Film Festival". Thrillist Media Group. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  8. ^ Libbey, Dirk (February 17, 2017). "Arrival Ending: One Exciting Mystery Has Now Been Solved". CinemaBlend. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  9. ^ Patches, Matt (November 13, 2016). "The Mystery Line in 'Arrival,' Revealed". Thrillist Media Group. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ Calia, Michael. "A New Story in Sci-Fi Writer Ted Chiang's Life: Hollywood". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
  12. ^ Han, Angie (February 16, 2017). "How 'Interstellar' Changed the Ending of 'Arrival'". /Film. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  13. ^ Chitwood, Adam (February 13, 2017). "'Arrival' Writer Eric Heisserer on How 'Interstellar' Forced Him to Change the Ending". collider.com. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  14. ^ a b {{cite web |last1=Kit |first1=Borys |title=Jeremy Renner Joins Amy Adams in Sci-Fi 'Story of Your Life' (Exclusive) |url= http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/jeremy-renner-joins-amy-adams-779876 |accessdate=March 8, 2015 |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter|date=March 6, 2015}}
  15. ^ Kroll, Justin (April 1, 2015). "Forest Whitaker Eyes 'Story of Your Life' With Amy Adams (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  16. ^ White, James (June 17, 2015). "Michael Stuhlbarg Joins Story Of Your Life". Empireonline. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  17. ^ "Sloan Science & Film". scienceandfilm.org. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  18. ^ a b "CLOSE ENCOUNTER". British Cinematographer. Retrieved March 18, 2017. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ "Oscars give Denis Villeneuve's crew members their time of Arrival". February 24, 2017. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  20. ^ Stephen Wolfram (November 10, 2016). "Quick, How Might the Alien Spacecraft Work?". Stephen Wolfram Blog.
  21. ^ a b c Science vs. Cinema (November 28, 2016), Science vs. Cinema: ARRIVAL, retrieved February 7, 2017
  22. ^ Margaret Rhodes (December 11, 2016). "How Arrival's Designers Crafted a Mesmerizing Alien Alphabet". WIRED.
  23. ^ Marissa Martinelli (November 22, 2016). "How Realistic Is the Way Amy Adams' Character Hacks the Alien Language In Arrival? We Asked a Linguist". Slate.com. Slate.
  24. ^ The Ling Space (November 16, 2016), The Linguistics of Arrival, retrieved February 7, 2017
  25. ^ Abley, Mark (November 4, 2016). "Watchwords: Denis Villeneuve's new film, Arrival, gets to the heart of language". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  26. ^ Weintraub, Steve (October 26, 2016). "Composer Jóhann Jóhannsson on 'Arrival'". Collider.com (Complex Media). Retrieved October 26, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  27. ^ Tapley, Kristopher (December 13, 2016). "Oscars: Academy Disqualifies 'Arrival,' 'Silence,' 'Manchester' Original Scores (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  28. ^ Sharf, Zack. "'Arrival' Official Trailer: Amy Adams and Denis Villeneuve Make Alien Contact In Ambitious Sci-Fi Drama". Indiewire.com. Retrieved August 19, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  29. ^ "Hong Kong outrage at 'Arrival' poster skyline blunder". BBC. August 19, 2016. Retrieved August 19, 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  30. ^ "Cannes: Paramount Confirms 'Story Of Your Life' Acquisition; $20 Million Is Fest Record Deal". Deadline. May 14, 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  31. ^ 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.
  32. ^ Vivarelli, Nick (July 21, 2016). "Tom Ford's 'Nocturnal Animals,' Villeneuve's 'Arrival,' new Kusturica Headed for Venice (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
  33. ^ 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. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  34. ^ "Arrival". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved August 8, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  35. ^ Hammond, Pete (September 1, 2016). "Telluride Film Festival Lineup: 'Sully', 'La La Land', 'Arrival', 'Bleed For This' & More". Deadline.com. Retrieved September 1, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  36. ^ "Arrival". BFI London Film Festival. Retrieved September 1, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  37. ^ "Denis Villeneuve's 'Story of Your Life' Gets Possible New Title, UK Release Date". collider.com.
  38. ^ Hipes, Patrick (June 16, 2016). "Paramount Dates Its Splashy Amy Adams Sci-Fi Tale 'Arrival' For Awards Season". Deadline.com. Retrieved June 16, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  39. ^ "Arrival (2016)". DVDs Release Dates. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
  40. ^ Hunt, Bill. "Arrival official, plus Manchester by the Sea, Trolls, Jackie, Heat, Speed Racer update & more". The Digital Bits. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  41. ^ Klein, Brennan. "Amy Adams alien flick Arrival descends onto 4K Ultra HD this Valentine's Day". Joblo. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  42. ^ "'Doctor Strange' Repeats at #1 as 'Arrival', 'Almost Christmas' & 'Shut In' Hit Theaters". Box Office Mojo.
  43. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 24, 2016). "'Moana' Rings Up $81M+ & Ranks As 2nd Best Thanksgiving Debut After 'Frozen'". Deadline.com. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  44. ^ "Is Controversy Impacting 'A Dog's Purpose' At The Box Office?". Deadline.com.
  45. ^ "Arrival (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  46. ^ "Arrival Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  47. ^ CinemaScore on Twitter (March 24, 2017). "Arrival". Retrieved April 10, 2017. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  48. ^ "Arrival Movie Review & Film Summary (2016)". Roger Ebert.com. Retrieved November 11, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  49. ^ Lansky, Sam (November 10, 2016). "In Arrival, Amy Adams Takes a Listening Tour of the Universe". Time.com. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  50. ^ "Review: 'Arrival,' Starring Amy Adams, Is One of the Best of the Year". The Atlantic. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  51. ^ Chris Tilly (September 26, 2016). "Arrival Review". IGN. Retrieved November 13, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  52. ^ "Arrival review: dazzling science-fiction that will leave you speechless". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  53. ^ "The 50 best films of 2016 in the UK: the full list". The Guardian. November 29, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
  54. ^ "The 50 best films of 2016 in the UK: No 3 Arrival". The Guardian. December 14, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
  55. ^ The 10 Best (and Five Worst) Genre Movies of 2016
  56. ^ Den Of Geek films of the year: Arrival
  57. ^ WhatCulture. 20 Best Movies Of 2016
  58. ^ Mir Fantastiki. Best sci-fi and fantasy movies of 2016
  59. ^ The Atlantic. The Best Movies of 2016
  60. ^ Blastr. Our Top 10 Movies of 2016
  61. ^ Digital Trends Best Movies of 2016
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