New Arrival

So the movie Arrival, aka the story based on a short story called “Story of your life.” That’s a good one, but alas, I shall nitpick. Well, sorta. It’s more like an amendment I’d make for the betterment of the piece. I’m not much for those convos wherein all parties participatory bitch about the nitty-grits of an otherwise descent movie, and this one’s above-par. What woulda made it more above-par, me thinks, woulda been what I’ll tell you after a quick recap for those who’ve seen it and spoilers for those who haven’t.

Basically, this linguist woman, Louise, has “memories” of her daughter, who succumbed to some rare disease, since about scene 1 of the movie, Up style. Except they’re not really memories but visions of the future. This is possible because as she learns the language of the aliens that have arrived on Earth, her worldview changes to more like that of said aliens. Who communicate and write in a series of circles that have embedded within them all sorts of info, kinda like a Japanese character except within one character is an entire sentence. And since it's a circle it implies a loop because that’s literally what it is. So as Louise starts to learn the language she also starts to see the world as they would, thus creating a time-loop effect for her mind, granting her power to see the future, but not really know what it is. 

So this poor woman is doomed to give birth to a daughter that she knows will die at an early age. I believe at some point in the movie she poses the question to her future husband that goes something like, “If you knew your entire life, would you change anything?” I mean, I think the obvious answer is, “it depends,” but hey. Honestly, I don’t much remember his answer, but I think it was something like, “nah,” which would make sense for the movie because it would explain why she chooses to be with him and to birth their daughter anyway. 

And therein enters the amendment I’d make. See, after the aliens successfully teach their time-fuckery language to Louise, they depart in a spaceship-turning-to-mist exit all around the globe simultaneously. And after that comes what’s called the denouement: that one last point in the story in which we see what becomes of the characters post-main-conflict-wrap-up. A lot of times they’re predictable (which leads me to wonder if they’re essential), and this time was predictable with its predictableness. Louise and her future husband, Ian, the mathematician on the alien job, kinda just hug. And we see them have a romantic night of drinking at her place in the future (no sex nor even a kiss was ever shown). So, okay, now it’s amendment-giving time. I’d have instead inserted a scene where Louise felt bittersweet about her daughter’s birth. Maybe the birth scene itself. Maybe holding her for the first time while thinking about her inevitable death. That woulda been heart-breaking and haunting. What parent wouldn’t relate to that? (Assuming they’re not the deadbeat, see-ya-later types). I’m definitely gonna put a pic of a mom holding a baby as this entry’s thumb, adding a mildly similar effect to a time-loopy, the-ending-is-the-beginning effect.