#for context this is a flashback scene i feel like thats obvious but idk just in case anyone couldnt tell

[sonknuxadow]

^ they are brothers btw if you care

[emiliaboone]

Sci-Fi Romance Thoughts: Arrival

Here we go again! Here’ are my VERY SPOILER FILLED thoughts on the movie Arrival! Like with my mystery movies, I watched 2 “great” movies, two mediocre/bad movies, and one parody. This is my first great movie, I movie I forgot how much I loved until I watched it again. Seriously, compared to the rest of the movies I’m going to talk about, these are super biased. I love this movie.

Who is in love? Louise and Ian

How much time was spent on the romance? I would say 20 minutes total not including the implications of the flashbacks.

Did they end up together? Yes and no. They get married but they also get divorce, but the movie ends with them getting together in the first place.

Did the plot depend on it? Sort of. Mainly through Hannah.

How much lead up? A pretty good amount. It’s a pretty subtle plot point, really, he looks at her really cute, touches her when he can, and talks about how great he is and how he appreciates her. He’s constantly impressed by her. It seems really natural, since them even getting together is just a long hug, really. The only reason you know it went further than that is the flash forwards, so it’s really a subtle romance but you know it’s going to get bigger.

Were you feeling it? HELL FUCKING YEAH-That end scene gives me warm fuzzies even though I know it doesn’t work out and when I first watched this movie I had ALL the hope that one day, outside of the film’s timeline, they’d get back together. I don’t know why, since you don’t actually see much of it, just the results, but I was really rooting for them.

How was it integrated? So this was actually really nicely integrated. Because for most of the movie, it’s a crush that Ian has on Louise, and it looks like she might be reciprocating but that she’s getting over her dead daughter. But when you find out that’s not it at all, and that she’s being tormented by visions she can’t understand, it becomes more of a focus only in the last 2 or so minutes when you see a montage of their marriage. The real integration here was the flash forwards, which he wasn’t even a part of, his main role the implication that he’s the girl’s father. So the romance wasn’t a part of the main plot, but it affects it severely. 

How distracting was it? Not at all. I super love this one. It’s subtle enough but still cute.

Kiss? Not in movie...

Sex? No, but the implication is there cos there’s a kid and he asks her to “make a baby” in the montage...god this movie is weird.

Annoyance level: Big Fat Zero

Overall Movie Rating: Legit give this movie a 9.5 out of ten. the only thing is that paradox blurb near the end. But I super love it.

Thoughts! -  I love this movie. I want to get the bias out of the way before I even get started. SPOILERS OH MY GOD SPOILERS but woah. knowing how this movie ended has literally changed the first minute for me. The way she looks at her daughter is actually super sad in hindsight. She’s looking at her like that because she knows exactly what’s going to happen! Okay so I don’t want to take up all of this section with comments about the ending and how great it is but this is romance related I promise. I love that jeremy renner’s not here right now. I super love that they focus on her and not them. I know that showing him would reveal the twist but he’s not even a shadow in the background here. This focus is on her, her character, her story, and the only real mention of him is the closeup shot on her wedding ring for a minute. But then he’s just gone and isn’t in the picture, so you know there was someone, but that doesn’t matter right now cos the story is hers. And I love that. It shows that this is not a romance, regardless of the fact that there is romance in here, but that the story is her journey and where it takes her. It’s my favourite. Oh my god that took up like all my notes. OH MY GOD LOL FOX NEWS DIG! Ok so I know that more cows thing has a context but I can’t remember what it is and not i’m just confused. Ok so they meet when they’re on a helicopter and he reads her book back to her with a stupid smile on his face. It’s very obvious from second one, at least to me, that they’re going to be a thing, but maybe it’s just me seeing this movie before? And then he immediately contradicts her book, like he’s kind of riling her up to introduce himself? Idk it’s a classic greeting. Half arguing, it’s not really banter, and it’s not exactly hostile but it’s…heated. Looking at each other all scared and impressed across the room before he’s sick. He’s the first person she looks to for validation when she “gets” it. Ooh. Yikes. I have a problem with hearing “a more advanced race”…that’s inherently anthropologically incorrect and coming from forrest whitaker it just seems even more problematic? I don’t know it might just be me. Is it me? Maybe it’s just me? (crazy ex reference) I also love how this movie isn’t america centric. Like yeah it’s focused in america but you hear other countries making their own strides, it’s not just one thing. I know my bias is showing but this movie is so great. It’s his name that they introduce, rather than anyone else’s. OH YES THIS IS MY FAVOURITE SCENE GUYS. He looks at her all cute. He always has but that’s kind of the main thing. Okay this exchange is very platonic, this exchange about their names, and their reactions to them. Before I felt this as something obviously romantic, but that one moment felt platonic. Shit, the rewatch bonus on this movie is good. So i’m trying to interpret here what his narration means. He’s speaking for her, here, but it’s still about her. He’s talking about her accomplishments, playing up her strengths. He’s impressed by her. But I’m not quite sure this is all of it. I feel like there was some deliberate choice in Ian narrating this bit rather than Louise, who’s done literally all the narration before this. Is it because she’s working and therefore can’t provide the narration? is it him being impressed with her? There’s a reason, I know it. I just…don’t know what it is yet. So he’s even narrating the linguistics now. What does this mean? I know it means something and I think it has to do with the eventual romance but I just can’t put my finger on why. Ok here we go. First real conversation. “I was thinking about you”—he’s really impressed by her work and who he is. “that’s probably why I’m single” classic line, bro. “you and I are a good thing, right?” ooh, nice save. jeremy renner’s left handed? huh. Here we go, first mention of “dad”. OH SHIT, TALK TO ANIMALS I GET THAT NOW! So they mention they’re divorced, so thats the first clue of what happened to him. He’s worried about her, cute. I love this. What looked like depression is now confusion and it’s fucking brilliant and this movie is so good. He’s the one who checks in on her. FORESHADOWING FOR THE FUCKING WIN. If they know the radiation levels are fine, why is everyone else still wearing hazmat suits? hes the only one that backs her up, oh wait those other scientists! they’re going to fucking bomb them and they’re cool with letting them die??? wtf? I forgot about that. Ok this is great. You only see the “flashbacks” when she’s working on the language!! He’s the first thing she asks about, though that makes sense here, but then she wants to know where he is and he wouldn’t leave without knowing if she’s ok. We have the first hint of who the father is! I wonder what I thought of this the first time? was it that she had a thing for scientists? or that she was pulling back from ian because of a previous failed marriage to a scientist? or that there was no connection? idk. I don’t remember. Oh and then she always wakes up like it’s a dream. This is so not romancy i’m going on about the foreshadowing but I love this movie, so…Oh shit the first clue that this is not a memory I love it! I should shut up about it but ooooh god. He’s the one that notices she’s gone, oh shit I just realised you saw her see the future! like that just happened! I didn’t even notice that! Oh he’s so happy that she figured it out. OH SHIT WHAM LINE that threw me so far off guard the first time I audibly gasped. He immediately comes to her with a coat and catches her when she falls, panicking and holds her until she’s ok, but he responds to her talking about why her husband left her with “you were married” and it’s both nonchalant and out of place and I don’t know what to make of it, really. He keeps his arm around her, his hand on her back. Now truthfully I actually hated this part the first time around. it felt like a copout. The whole stable time loop. I think i’d like it a lot more if present her didn’t count on future her to solve present problem, since her future self only knows it because her past self used the future self to figure it out and ugh. that’s a major paradox, and I don’t do well with paradoxes. Taking excuses to touch her however he can,..that sounds weird but yeah. Ok this part made me mad too, and it still kind of does, paradox aside. because past self needs shang to show future self his number so past self will know it, but wouldn’t past self remember the phone number since she would also remember past self calling it? she seems confused that she even called him but that’s just flat out in the past, why wouldn’t she remember that? “I called you didn’t I?” yes, he just said that you did…That’s why this part of the movie kind of made me mad. it’s the ONLY thing about it with jumps in logic and yes, it’s nitpicky but that’s just a testament to how good the rest of the movie is. This conversation in the future would have been perfect, actually, if future amy adams didn’t look so confused about it. that’s definitely something she would remember, if she literally caused world peace. Cos it makes sense for the conversation to happen if the stable time loop was where they were going with it,he’d have to say it otherwise there’d be no way to remember it. but even if she didn’t remember exactly what the dying words were, I feel like she at least had to have remembered the phone call. Is it just me??? His “buy me 20seconds” is literally throwing himself in front of a bullet for her, so…touching her shoulder, putting his arm around her, she knows that they’re going to get married but she’s choosing to go through with it. She has that “it was you all along” moment “you know what surprised me most? it wasn’t meeting them, it was meeting you”, nice sweet hug with  flash forwards to their marriage, even though she knows he’s going to leave her. I also love that her whole life is HER choice. That’s really cool. FUCK that movie’s good. Really, if it weren’t for that one maybe 10 minute segment near the end with the paradox this movie would be pretty much perfect, honestly. Holy shit I took so many notes and they’re all about how great this movie is…

Those were my...holy shit LOTS of thoughts on arrival! You can find the video I took these notes for here! ...I kind of like this movie. A little.