A First Glimpse of Villeneuve's 'Arrival'
Tuesday, August 9, 2016 at 9:06AM Chris here with a first look at one of the fall's big Oscar question marks. Last year, Denis Villeneuve's Sicario did quite well by Oscar standards if you consider its punishing bleakness and divisiveness even if it missed the major races. This year he's returning with the sci-fi Arrival, and we've been patiently waiting to see if this will raise his Oscar cache.
To go with the building buzz, here are our first looks...
Amy Adams stars as a language expert trying to prevent global war after extraterrestrial ships, well, arrive (it could be a long season for this title) with Jeremy Renner providing pensive support. The actress also has Tom Ford's Nocturnal Animals in play at Venice so get ready to have her back on the awards beat. Roundtable omnipresence be damned, it's enticing to have her back in auteur territory. We'll see how her odds stack up against the usual Villeneuve chilliness and a field packed with beloved perennial contenders.
Aside from the onscreen talent, Villeneuve also has returning Sicario craftsmen like composer Jóhann Jóhannsson to bring the mood again. Replacing his usual cinematographer Roger Deakins is the brilliant Bradford Young, whose lack of a nomination grows increasingly unfair. It's safe to expect some pristine filmmaking.
The film will be in competition at the Venice Film Festival before also playing Toronto fest (and maybe Telluride), so we'll be getting word on the film very soon.
Reader Comments (8)
Is this Renner's first "good" role/choice on paper for quite a while? Maybe he has the chance to return to The Hurt Locker level and surprise people.
I'm excited for this. Sicario was amazing and you know Villeneuve will pull the best from both the script and these two actors - he did pull my favorite Blunt performance out of her after all. Also, Sci-FI!
YES I am here for this! Amy Adams needs some new love after the tepid Superman movies (excluding the chance of getting steamy witb Henry Cavill) and Jeremy Renner also needs to take a break from those superheroes.
What's up with that round thing in Amy's pic? Is that supposed to be the UFO? This is so like that Sicario pic with a bruised Emily Blunt, with the subtle foreshadowing and such. Love it.
I've only been convinced by Adams's performances a few times, but...
Villeneuve + Johansson + Young = YASSSSS - count me in!
Amy Adams is not overdue a Best Actress Oscar.
Forget Oscar recognition... I am very happy if she is going to have a strong role that she is quite capable of doing....
My favorite thing about these pictures is the color and brightness. Look, dark hues are not necessary to convey darkness.
That's also my favorite thing about the Kong: Skull Island trailer.
I need this to be good. I want it to be good. It has to be good.
I trust Villeneuve. He knows what he's doing. I don't think Amy Adams is overdue. Her nomination tally may make you think she's overdue but she's never given the best performance in any of those years. We'll see.