Arrival Review: 10 Reasons It's An Instant Classic
6. The Tightness Of The Script
I've not seen a movie with a script as tight as Arrival in a very long time. Every moment is essential, effective in its own right and building towards the finale in the most subtle ways. Throughout the first act there were countless little observations - clues, thematic points, or confusion over presentation - that by the end all looped back to be essential building blocks for later narrative turns.
The basic plot comes straight from the source short story, Story Of Your Life, but Villeneuve and screenwriter Eric Heisserer have really elevated it, creating a movie that can't be watched in the same way after first viewing. It's not obvious setup either, and even the bits the more astute viewer may pick up on early are still vague enough it's frankly impossible to piece together where we're heading.
That's incredibly clever writing, and the kind that shows great faith in the audience.