20 Things You Didn't Know About Arrival
19. Time Is But A Flat Circle
When we are first introduced to Amy Adams’ Louise Banks, she is shown to be somewhat detached from her environment, as seen in the opening moments where she is completely oblivious to the commotion caused by the Heptapods’ descent on Earth.
While this serves to add to add to the movie’s idea of time being cyclical (albeit in a deliberately misleading manner), its visual depiction of the repetitive nature of Louise’s day-to-day life extends beyond her seeming indifference to external events. The film’s production designer, Patrice Vermette, designed the three main settings relevant to Louise (her house, classroom, and the alien ship) to have underlying similarities.
From the use of a minimalist design in her house, subdued lighting choices in the terrestrial settings and the recurring presence of a white wall - the large glass window in her house, her classroom’s whiteboard, and the display in the ship – Vermette and his team were able to convey how Louise’s past, present and future all impacted each other in a nonlinear fashion.