#18: Arrival
Denis Villeneuve has yet to miss. It’s hard to find a better start to a feature film career across film history for a director:
2013: Prisoners and Enemy - both cement his unmatched ability to create atmosphere through his directing. While Enemy is a bit more abstract in its execution, both films manage to convey a sense of dread, and feature terrific performances from their central leads (Jake Gyllenhall in both films, paired with Hugh Jackman and Paul Dano in Prisoners). This is a rip-roaring start, an elevation of genre movies and some career highlight performances from his actors
2015: Sicario - another thriller of the highest order. One of the best-looking films of the 21st century, topped by a thematically dense examination of border politics, misogyny, and power, all the while never becoming too preachy.
2016: Arrival - A second straight film featuring a female protagonist. This one introduces us to Villeneuve’s eye for scale, something that continues to feature in the rest of his proceeding works. Arrival also features perhaps his most elevated story, weaving an extraterrestrial arrival with a commentary on love, language, time, and chance
2017: Blade Runner 2049 - to follow up on Sir Ridley Scott’s classic (and prophetic) original is no small feat, but given his work on Arrival, it is clear Denis had the eye for atmosphere and theme to serve as a steady hand on this legacy sequel. More than steady, this film adds on to the original in creative ways without losing touch with the central ideas that drive its elevated science fiction. One of the most underrated films of the 21st century, with a great central performance from Ryan Gosling.
2021-2024: Dune: Part One and Dune: Part Two - the famously unfilmable story (with a now infamous, unintentionally humorous, and memeable original serving as a warning for any trying to adapt this tale) comes to life in remarkable ways in these two films. The casting is terrific, the on-location filming gives a tactile truth to its story, and its CGI work—particularly in the first film—is perhaps the best I’ve ever seen.
From the outset of his career, Villeneuve has managed to merge classical genre filmmaking with high-level auteurism in ways that can speak to popular audiences and film scholars alike. Given his undeniable presence in the movie world these last few years, it seemed necessary to me to place one of his films on the list, but with such a terrific slate, which film to choose?
I went with Arrival not because I think it is necessarily head and shoulders above the rest of his work (in fact, I’d call him one of the most consistent directors we have working today - all of his films achieve a level of excellence that just doesn’t seem to drop off), but because its themes seem most coherent and resonant. For all his ability to capture thrilling visuals and epic stories, Denis does at times sacrifice pointed emotional resonance. A legitimate critique—one of the few—that is leveed against him is the coldness of his work, not simply in terms of writing and directing but even down to the color grading and shading of his films. Arrival, while it maintains his distinct aesthetic, manages to provide depth of character and theme that transcends anything else he’s done. Not only this, but it is also Denis’ best attempt at subverting a genre: he takes the expectations of the audience when it comes to aliens and visitors from outer spaces and uses them in order to craft a compelling and surprising story.
I can still recall the first time seeing this film: alongside a collection of friends, we sat and watched the entire credits scroll by, soaking in not only the story but the philosophical and existential weight it prompted in us. Ripe for interpretive debate and filled with moments that demand reflection and dialogue, Arrival manages to stand out, if only slightly, from the rest of his filmography, though you can’t go wrong with anything from Denis. Couldn’t be more excited for his new take on the James Bond franchise, coming soon!
Other Recommendations If You Arrival: Annihilation, Ad Astra, Ex Machina, Gravity