Almost There: Amy Adams in "Arrival"
Monday, November 23, 2020 at 9:32PM 
With Hillbilly Elegy upon us, two of Oscar's perennial bridesmaids are back on the hunt for gold. Most of the movie's buzz has centered on Glenn Close's latest attempt at enshrining her career in the glory of Hollywood's most coveted trophy. However, one shouldn't ignore Amy Adams, an Oscar-hungry actress who's only one winless nomination away from tying her costar's record of seven nods and no victory. She'd have already tied Close if not for her infamous snub in 2016.
Despite starring in a Best Picture contender with eight overall nominations, earning citations from the Globes, BAFTA, SAG, and the BFCA, Amy Adams failed to conquer a place in AMPAS' Best Actress lineup for her performance in Arrival…
"Memory is a strange thing. It doesn't work like I thought it did" says Amy Adams at the start of Denis Villeneuve's Arrival. Unlike many a great actor whose on-screen brilliance doesn't translate well to narration, the star of this sci-fi drama knows how to work her voice, modulating timbre and tone as a musician tunes their instrument. Though she's not singing, Adams' words flow with melodious sorrow, singing the story of a mother who loves her daughter, who loses her daughter. The gentle cadence of her storytelling is as informed by love as by guilt, aching and devotion, wonderment and marrow-deep grief.
As she speaks, we see images of jubilant motherhood turned into cruel tragedy. Quick impressions, cut together like a half-remembered dream, unfurling to the sound of Max Richter's On the Nature of Daylight. It's a haunting montage, a prologue bound to be mirrored by a similar prologue, brethren of pain with tears going down their faces and bittersweet smiles. What little we see of Adams are brushstrokes of calcinating emotion, joy fading into mourning. Her heart is open to us, but there are secrets in her expression.
Does she look exhausted when smiling? Is it spiritual weariness or the body's collapse? Does her blank stare speak of steely resignation or the fear of an uncertain parent? Are these remembrances or premonitions, flashes from the past, or whispers from the future? The specificities of cinematic grammar make us assume they are the ghost of yesterday's pain, but time and reminiscence aren't as straightforward as we've known them. Not in the otherworldly realities of Arrival. Not in the phantasmagoria of Amy Adams' performance.
For all its conceptual density, Arrival possesses a simple plot. When a dozen alien ships appear on Earth, the world's governments summon experts to try and communicate with the extraterrestrial beings. In the USA, linguistics professor Louise Banks is summoned to be part of a team trying to establish contact with the space-dwellers who have landed on Montana. As weeks go by, Louise and physicist Ian Donnelly start to learn the heptapods' palindromic writing, its circular form containing a non-linear understanding of time.
As she learns to communicate in different terms, so does Louise learn to live in different paradigms. Her arc is one of problem-solving that bleeds into existential reckoning, academic discovery twisting itself into a personal epiphany. Truth be told, it's hard to overstate the challenging nature of the role, so great are its demands. Louise is a woman facing that which is beyond human comprehension, time as a circle instead of a line, the future as past, the intangible mysteries of the cosmos suddenly materialized.
On a more technical, less esoterical, level, Louise is a cerebral character, her mental machinations contained, perchance imprisoned, in long silences and intense stares. To make the act of thinking into a riveting spectacle isn't an easy task. Even when cameras aren't involved, externalizing the interior complexity of reflection, meditation, assimilation, and decipherment is a hard task. After all, one can easily fall into indifferent inexpression or vacuous mugging. With her intelligent eyes, Adams avoids such pitfalls, modulating how Louise hears and reacts, how she ponders before doing, how she remembers.
Notice, for instance, Adams' teacherly introduction on the day they arrive. When asked by a student to turn the TV on a news channel, she pauses, considers her pupils' serious faces, and, without saying a word, proceeds to do as asked. There's a sternness to her poise, but also a palpable need to understand those she's talking to. Later, when lying through her teeth to get what she wants from the US military, her eyes don't flutter or dart around. They stay fixed, pointedly unmovable in a show of stubbornness that's contradicted by her nervous body language.
Nevertheless, it's when facing the aliens that both Adams and Louise come alive. In the early scenes, there's an electric curiosity charging through her. The current sparks first when she takes off her protection suit but reaches its maximum potential when two species touch. Adams plays the moment with overwhelming abandonment, eyes rolling to the back of her head, an orgasm, divine ecstasy. It's Michelangelo's Adam touching God, Humanity coming into contact with something bigger than itself.
It's a beautiful performance that only grows more beautiful, more affecting, as its secrets are uncovered. By the end, when Louise hugs her future lover, we can see galaxies of contradicting sentiment in her sorrowful smile. Arrival is cinema as remembrance crystalized, disconnected from the mind, and extrapolated onto a white screen in a black room. None of it would work without Adams at its center. She holds the high concepts together, grounds them in humanity.
As mentioned before, precursor-wise, the actress had everything necessary to consider herself a lock going into Oscar nomination morning. Still, AMPAS' known prejudices against genre pictures probably cost her the nod. The actual nominees were Isabelle Huppert in Elle, Ruth Negga in Loving, Natalie Portman in Jackie, Emma Stone in La La Land, and Meryl Sreep in Florence Foster Jenkins. Even when the Academy deems a fantasy or sci-fi flick worthy of multiple nominations, they're reluctant to bestow gold on their actors. Furthermore, Adams' performance, no matter how formidable it is, remains internal throughout and mostly devoid of explosive Oscar clips. It would have been a great nomination, but it's easy to see why it missed when studying the Academy's long history.
You can rent Arrival from several services like Amazon, Google Play, Youtube, and others.
Reader Comments (32)
Amy should've taken Natalie Portman's spot in the roster.
Still baffled by this omission. Had she been nominated I think she could have won.
She should've been nominated for that or Nocturnal Animals but the competition that year was fierce. Honestly, PO'TMAN MOTHAFUCKA should've won instead of Emma Stone.
It's a terrific performance and one of my personal favorites from Amy. Her Arrival snub still makes me bitter to this day. The Best Actress lineup was so weak that I don't even mind Emma Stone winning (at least it wasn't Streep or Portman). I know there are people that argue for Isabelle Huppert, but let's be honest. The nomination was the "reward" for her. She was never gonna win despite the Golden Globe upset.
I can't help but think of that article Nathaniel wrote back in November 2016 forecasting Amy's snub. "Why Amy Adams May Have to Sit This Oscar Year Out...". In hindsight, it's pretty crazy he saw that snub coming.
My two cents: her performances in Enchanted, Her and Arrival are more Oscar-worthy than the ones in Doubt, The Master and Vice.
My favorite film of hers. My favorite performance of hers. My favorite snub to complain about every Oscar season since (dethroning Peter Sarsgaard in Shattered Glass).
She was absolutely excellent in this movie and should’ve won, had she been nominated. She was in the odd position of being less likely to be nominated than likely to win *if* nominated.
Just a competitive year.. Streep in no way deserved a slot along the rest. It was just that dang Golden Globes speech.
A very good performance, but it was gonna be really hard to win, so better she didn't get the nod.
I prefer Annette Bening (20th Century women), she deserved Meryl spot and probably Stone award.
I love this movie, and Amy in it, but I completely understand why they would not push her into the top 5. The performance is too subtle and the movie is very intellectual. It's primarily focused on the mechanics of language and time travel, and that is me summarizing it (many people did not even understand it after watching it). So I think it probably went right to the side when they were making their choices as far as actors. But it's a great movie on her bio and that is to her credit.
I would not have nominated her - the year was too strong. Sandra Hüller was the most deserving who was left out, and Viola Davis should have been in Lead and won. ARRIVAL overall is pretty overrated.
When some idiot comes along and complains that Amy Adams gets too many nominations, just sit them in front of this film. How she didn't get nominated, let alone win it is beyond me. ??
And I loved Annette Benning in "20th Century Woman" as well. They managed to not nominate the 2 best performances that year. A truly bad year.
Amy Adams became the female equivalent of Paul Newman that year. They now take her excellence for granted in that maddening way The Academy treats really great actors it has gotten a little too used to. But at least I own both of these films, and can regularly enjoy how brilliant they both are.
i don't know if the "performance too internal" narrative applies to explain her snub. I mean, Ruth Negga got in for a work even more subtle and internal than this. If anything the genre could have hurt her chances and yes, Arrival got in for BP and a healthy amount of nods, but the acting branch itself is pickier (and even kind of snob) when it comes to recognize performances from Sci-fi movies
She should have taken Meryl Streep's spot. Natalie Portman was on FIRE in Jackie!! 🔥 😁
As a Chinese, I completely fail to understand her Chinese. Good luck to you all if she's the ultimate linguist your government want to save you from an invasion crisis. A lot of Americans in Asia probably speak better Chinese than her.
ARRIVAL is my personal favorite Amy Adams performance. she usually scores in fits and starts for me in any given performance, and her work in this film was her most complete, full, sustained, and complex characterization.
she certainly should have taken Negga or Streep's spot that year.
This should have been her Oscar win. It would have been so well deserved and aged even better.
The movie did not work for me as a science fiction piece, but I totally bought it as a story of a mother (and that's because of Adams, obviously). She was second in my personal ranking that year (behind Portman).
I consider it the most puzzling snub of the last decade. Aside from genre bias, Streep's Globes speech and racial element of Loving might have factored in.
SHE SHOULD HAVE WON THE OSCAR FOR THIS!!!
This was a major snub but it happens all the time Kidman in Birth,Pfeiffer The Age of innocence and so on.
Negga took her spot or Huppert an actress I just don't respond to especially in Elle..
This one stings.
I too think that Amy Adams should have been nominated for this - and that if she had been nominated she would have stood a very good chance of winning. And I think she would have deserved to win.
I don't think it's a snub, though. I don't think the Academy purposefully ignored her. (Why would they, when they have nominated her six other times?) Genre bias may have been a factor - but the Academy had nominated Matt Damon the previous year for a comedic performance in the same genre. Adams may have got loads of second-place spots on the actors' nominating ballots, just not enough number ones overall.
I don't begrudge Streep her nomination: I think she is very convincing as Florence Foster Jenkins, a really tricky role that she makes look easy.
But of all the excellent Amy Adams performances, this one is right up there for me.
I rank the nominees:
1. Portman
2. Negga
3. Streep
4. Huppert
5. Stone
This field is so strong that even though she's 5th, I still think Stone was deserving. Throw in that Viola Davis should have been in this category, Sondra Hueller who was absolutely fantastic in Tony Erdmann, and so was the little-seen Rebecca Hall in Christine (my personal favorite also-ran), and it was just a very tough year to crack the top 5. Added to that there was also Adams competing with herself for her performance in Nocturnal Animals (which I prefer) and it's just a lot of factors working against her here.
Good film, strong performance in a fairly competitive year, but Adams already had so many makeup nominations for her Junebug loss, fatigue had set in.
As for Glenn Close, she actually deserves most of her nominations.
Adams in Arrival and Portman in Jackie are two performances I wish I liked more. I say this as someone who thinks Adams should have won at least three of her races and loved Vox Lux, so I’m far from a hater. I just think the expository nature of Adams’s role limits her and Portman’s focus on nailing Kennedy’s affectations distracts me from the emotional undercurrents of that performance.
Michael R -- Maybe, but she would have been a very odd winner in Best Actress history. I remember the day I saw LA LA LAND at a press screening, and a friend texted me later on to know my opinion. In our conversation, I told him Stone would win the Oscar since there was no way AMPAS would watch that audition acene (the early, phonecall one) without voting for her.
thevoid99 -- I too would have voted for Portman. However, I despise NOCTURNAL ANIMALS so I'm glad Adams missed that one.
Frank -- I think it was a very strong year, to be honest. As for Nathaniel's piece, I remember a lot of readers and commenters saying he was just hating on Amy Adams, but, in the end, he was right. The Academy doesn't like to recognize acting greatness in genre pictures.
Working stiff -- I agree.
Paranoid Android -- The power of that speech to influence Oscar cannot be overstated. I think a similar thing happened this year with Tom Hanks who finally managed to be nominated after years of snubs.
Cafg -- Glad to know others love Bening's performance. That's a perfect film.
Jonathan -- Considering what I've heard from some people I know, I might agree that ARRIVAL is overrated. However, I still think it's a pretty great picture with one hell of an emotional whallop.
Eduardo -- I think that being too internal hurt her because it was adding to the Academy's reluctance to nominate sci-fi performances. If she's had a great Oscar clip moment, some copious tears a la Bullock in GRAVITY, the nomination might have happens.
Eden -- I did not mention that aspect of the performance for that very reason. I was afraid it was as intelligible for Chinese speakers as some phonetically learned Portuguese is to my ears. Thanks for the information and the perspective on that element of Adams' work.
Edward L. -- I may overuse the term "Oscar snub". I'll try to have that in account in the future.
davidm -- Of Adams' six nominations, I'd give her three, though I'd also add a nomination that AMPAS didn't give. In total, I would have given her 4 nods and 1 win.
As for Close, I'd have nominated her for two of the seven performances the Academy honored. I would, however, add another nomination that AMPAS didn't give. In total, my personal Oscars see Close as a three-time nominee, one-time winner.
Yes, I have a bunch of lists detailing my Oscar choices. I am an obsessive list-maker :)
To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't have nominated Adams for ARRIVAL, but that's just because the year was so strong. My nominees would have been Bening in 20th CENTURY WOMEN, Hüller in TONI ERDMANN, Hightower in THE FITS, Huppert in THINGS TO COME, and Portman in JACKIE. Expand that beyond Oscar eligible titles, and I'll have to find space to nominate Braga in AQUARIUS. Again, it was a very competitive year full of amazing performances.
Thank you all for the feedback. It's lovely to get this many comments for a piece. I appreciate it dearly.
She should have won for Arrival. Wonderful performance.
Amy not been nominated for Arrival was a genuine shock for me, I thought, not only she would've been nominated but also she would've WON for it; Arrival is a masterpiece and Amy is brilliant; I really dislike Emma Stone winning that year ( she's up there with J-Law and Sandra Bullock when the Academy made feel like I was watching the MTV Movie Awards), Portman was mesmerizing in Jackie and she would be my winner. FFJ is one of Meryl's worst nods since Music of the Heart, enough said on that. ( plus: Chastain and Bening were right there) Go figures....
My line-up would've been:
Adams (winner)
Portman
Bening
Chastain
Huppert
This movie is always such a good rewatch. I have seen it much more than I expected.
Easily Adams' best performance. Should've at least gotten in over Streep who was coasting in FFJ.
Count me among the fans of both Arrival and Adams in it. I'd rank that performance maybe just a smidgen below Junebug. I think the Oscars voters just don't like to reward nuanced performances, that simple. It's why Close couldn't quite get up the head of steam to win for The Wife, as brilliant as her performance was. Pretty rare someone wins with nuance, maybe Julianne Moore for Still Alice. And a lot of people just thought that was a lifetime achievement award for her anyway.
Amy Adams should have been nominated for Enchanted and The Muppets. She was an absolute delight in both films. But I am guessing she will be the next Glenn Close. 8 or 9 noms before she gets it.
I'd love to see Adams (and Bening) nominated over Streep and Stone.