Almost Famous

 SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

Almost Famous (2000) springs from writer/director Cameron Crowe’s experiences as a writer for Rolling Stone magazine, including his interactions with The Allman Brothers, The Who, and the Eagles. (Crowe won an Oscar for Best Screenplay for this movie). The character William Miller (Patrick Fugit) is Crowe’s alter-ego, and he and others associated with rock and roll celebrities are famous adjacent, noteworthy by association. The film deals with the nature of celebrity, its highs and lows and the fallout on those that enter its sphere, along with the need to be independent, and not a follower.

The opening credits show how personal the story is for Crowe. A desk drawer opens and it has memorabilia of his association with rock bands. A person hand writes some of the credits on a paper pad, showing the analog period in which the tale is told.

The movie begins in San Diego with young William (Michael Angarano) talking to his mother, Elaine Miller (Frances McDormand, with yet another Oscar nomination, this time for supporting actress. They discuss To Kill a Mockingbird and Shakespeare. Their exchange shows her intellectual bent.

Daughter Anita (Zoe Deschanel) comes into the house, and Elaine, a college professor, is immediately suspicious of her activities. She knows that she has been kissing a boy, and she discovers that Anita has a Simon and Garfunkel album she is clutching under her coat. Elaine warns of how modern music is about sex and drugs and says the musical duo pictured on the album cover are “on pot.” These allegations seem ridiculous to us now, knowing of the beauty and insight of Simon and Garfunkel’s music. Mom is pushing vegetarian foods and not celebrating Christmas in September, not December, but when the holiday will not be commercialized. Anita asks, “What else are you gonna ban?” It is interesting that Elaine, a supposed liberal, can be repressive in her self-righteous attitudes.

Anita pushes the supposedly knowledge-championing Elaine into telling William the truth about his age. He thinks he started school early and is twelve years old. Mom had him skip a grade and he is really eleven. The boy already feels put upon by others because he is underdeveloped according to them. Anita says that mom has deprived him of reaching puberty at the same time as his peers. Self-righteous Elaine says, “Adolescence is a marketing tool,” as if it doesn’t really exist. Elaine does not believe in being “typical.” Her rebelliousness against anything accepted by others stigmatizes younger people looking for community among their peers.

Anita leaves to be a stewardess, ready to travel, which Elaine said William should do when he gets older. But Elaine sees William as “unique,” and her daughter as “ungrateful” of her love just because she is “rebellious.” Elaine also rebels against society, but she doesn’t tolerate any deviation from her own ideas. Anita tells William that “one day you’ll be cool,” which is what William yearns for, since it is a path to being revered by others, and eventually, becoming famous. Anita leaves him her record collection under his bed, to help him along the way to the realm of coolness. She leaves a note for William to play Tommy by The Who, and says he will hear his future listening to the album. It is an interesting choice. Tommy, who is not able to hear, speak, or see, is an outsider. His ability to be a pinball wizard despite his handicaps allows him to become famous by being “cool.” But then, he wants to mold everyone into his own image, and his followers reject him for forcing his version of conformity on the masses. It is sort of an ironic message for William, and it sounds like a version of what happened to Elaine.

The story jumps forward to 1973, and the teenage William hears music critic Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who visits San Diego, spout his views on the current state of rock and roll on the radio. The name “Bangs” fits what he does, whacking at the music industry. William meets Lester at the radio studio. He has been sending pieces he writes, and Lester admits William is a good writer. But his advice is the opposite of what his sister wanted for her brother. To be a music critic one must be “uncool,” Lester says. That allows the writer to be objective. He must be “honest” and “unmerciful.” He says that the bands will just try to bribe the critic with booze, drugs, and women to write praiseworthy reviews. He advises that the rock musicians are “not your friends.” Lester realizes that William will not be better off being a lawyer, which what his mother wanted, and he gives him a job to write about the group, Black Sabbath.

William isn’t allowed to go backstage for his interview. Outside he meets Penny Lane (yes, from the Beatles song). Kate Hudson (also nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar) plays Penny, who tells William she altered the groupies into what she calls the “Band Aids.” They are here to inspire the musicians. She says they do not have intercourse with the band members just to become close to those who are famous, although one girl says they do give “blow jobs,” which compromises the mission.

William’s knowledge of an opening band called Stillwater wins over the musicians, who at first called him “the enemy,” and they let him go backstage. (Peter Frampton wrote the Stillwater songs for the film). The band first says they play for the audience, not critics. But when William compliments them, they enjoy the praise. The film shows that everyone likes the critics when they are favorable and condemns them when they are negative. A band member has the belief that rock and roll can change the world, but admits to lower ambitions saying the money is good, and “the chicks are great.”

Penny catches up with William to give him a backstage pass, so she does follow up on her intentions. She plays with his face and tells him, “now you look mysterious.” It’s as if one must have an air of mystery, an element of being “cool,” to become popular. Just upfront honesty does not appear to be enough. William introduces Penny to Stillwater member Russell Hammond (Bully Cudrup), and there appears to be chemistry between the two. After the concert, Russell tells William to visit the band in LA and bring Penny with him. He is going under the name of “Harry Houdini.” Using an escape artist’s name, again, shows mystery is part of the cool allure.

To stress the divide between the cool and the uncool, when Penny tells William they live in the same city, he says they live in two different worlds, despite their proximity. She says she has decided to live in Morocco for a year, saying she needs to find a new crowd. Her words suggest that the Band Aid world of girls with rock stars has become jaded for her. She asks him if he wants to go with her, and the excited William, hoping to break out of his uncool world, says yes.

William lies to his mother about where he is going, and travels with Penny to LA to the Hyatt House hotel, which Russell called “The Riot House,” the play on words showing the contrast between a cool name and an uncool one. There are nerdy types running around gushing about seeing members of Led Zeppelin and getting autographs, wanting to decrease the degrees of separation from those who are famous.

Polexia Aphrodisia (Anna Paquin), one of the Band Aids, tells William that Penny used him so she could get close to Russell, showing how self-interest exists even under the appearance of camaraderie. Later, Penny admits to William that she sees Russell as her last project. She is true to her words about not just being a groupie. She actually wants to help Russell live up to his potential for greatness.

Rolling Stone gets wind of William’s writing and calls him to do a piece on Stillwater. William contacts Lester who again tells him not to be friends with the musicians and that the magazine consists of “swill merchants.” While talking, he wears a shirt that says, “Detroit Sucks,” so cynical has he become. He flies his negativity like a nihilistic flag.

Mom, with great trepidation, insisting on academic standards being kept, and stating “no drugs,” her mantra, allows William to go on tour with the band. When she calls, one of the Band Aids answers, who tells mom that William is doing a great job, is a real gentleman, and is still a virgin. In other words, his uncoolness remains intact. William’s phone call to his mother later occurs while another Band Aid talks about his “purple aura,” and that she has pot for him, which shows how William is caught between two worlds.

William keeps trying to get an interview with Russell, but the musician says he’ll talk off the record, because he doesn’t want honesty to tarnish his being “cool.” But, he admits some of the band’s actions, like being unfaithful to girlfriends and wives back home, should not be discovered by “millions.” Russell also admits that the more success the band has, it becomes harder to split from them, since he feels he is a more advanced musician. He says he and William should be friends for the night, which is what Lester advised against, since journalistic integrity is lost without objectivity. What the audience is seeing here is how art and personality are two separate worlds. While a bandmate still doesn’t trust a journalist among them, he admits it would be cool to be on the cover of Rolling Stone. The ambivalent world of rock stars is evident here.

At a concert, Russell receives an electric shock from an ungrounded microphone. This scene is based on a true event. According to IMDb, Les Harvey of Stone the Crows died due to being electrocuted by an ungrounded mic. Here, the image implies how being in a rock band, which is rebellious while still seeking acceptance, can be dangerous.

In Topeka, the band has a blow-up about T-shirts that depict Russell large and the others out-of-focus in the background. The lead singer, Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee) is particularly feeling unappreciated by Russell. After the argument, Russell grabs William to go out and find some “real people, real feelings.” That suggests that the rock business is feeling phony to him. He, as well as Penny and some others, may find that they can be close to William because of his youth. They may be attracted to what they see is his innocence, his lack of corruption.

Russell says William is real and finally asks about him. William admits to his father dying of a heart attack and how his mother and sister don’t talk. There is some actual sharing in the moment. Then they get invited to a party by passersby, and Russell agrees that they should go. Russell feels that connecting to these “real people” are what he is after. At the party, he is feeling intellectual, talking about how George Orwell’s predictions in 1984 are coming true. The response is that one guy wants to show him feed a mouse to his snake. So much for grand ideas.

William becomes the adult here as he warns the partygoers not to give Russell more LSD. Instead of connecting with real people, Russell delves into the delusional, yelling out, “I am a golden god!” which was attributed to Led Zeppelin singer, Robert Plant. He is on the roof and says that his last words are “I’m on drugs” which the crowd prefers to “I dig music,” and they want him to risk his life, jumping into the pool then just going back to the hotel. The movie implies that the fans want the outrageous from their idols so they can live vicariously through their heroes doing actions that they can’t or won’t do.

William gets Russell back with the band and bad feelings evaporate as the whole touring bus sings along to Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer.” So, music is still the glue that holds them together. William needs to get his interview with Russell before going home. Penny tells him he is “home.” And there lies the conflict. William is in and out of his true home.

In the hotel room William gets advice over the phone from Lester about how to stall Rolling Stone by calling his article a “think-piece” about a “mid-level band” dealing with fame. It may be a ploy, but it actually fits what’s going on. When William asks Penny, after she continues to name-drop rock stars, if she knows any regular people, she says “famous people are more interesting.” That shows the opposite drive from a regular person, as opposed to Russell’s urge to connect with “real” people. They show the desire to break out of where one currently resides.

The Band Aids decide to “de-flower” William, but Penny does not participate. Their friendship appears to be on a different level. The other girls are just playing around with no real connection to the young writer. When he asks them who he is to them he gets his answer when they tell him to take out the laundry.

Now in Cleveland, he has a phone call with his mother. Russell interrupts it and tells Elaine that William is fine, and they are taking good care of him. She, however, cuts through his crap, and tells him that he can overcome his debauchery to reach greatness, and that he would not want to meet up with her if anything unsavory happens to her son. Russell alters his attitude, becoming subservient, as if receiving parental guidance that he needed.

Dennis Hope (Jimmy Fallon) arrives, a big-name band promoter, saying Stillwater needs to move fast to capitalize on their increasing success. (His name “Hope” is a bit ironic here, as he is more for opportunity than the idealistic feel of “hope). He says they must cash in quickly, saying Mick Jagger will not make it as a rock star when he’s fifty. (Jagger still tours at age 82. So, the implication is that one can play the long game). But Stillwater goes with Hope, and they trade in their trusty touring bus for an airplane for transportation to reach more gigs quicker.

William witnesses a card game between rock band members, and Russell agrees to give up Penny and the other Band Aids for fifty dollars and a case of beer to the rock group Humble Pie. William is becoming more cynical about the rock business, and accepts the original idea of him, being a journalist, as “the enemy” who can expose secrets. When Penny wants to go to New York to pursue Russell it is William who tells her to “wake up,” since Leslie (Liz Stauber), Russell’s girlfriend, will be there. He then tells her about the poker game. She tries to hide her hurt. As William points out there is so much phoniness, that they live in a made-up life, with invented names.

In New York, Leslie shows up, but so does Penny, and she is crushed when another band member says she is with him as a diversion. After William tells the band they will be on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, Penny runs off and tries to overdose on Quaaludes. William follows her and calls a doctor at the hotel. She is alone as she feels deserted since the other Band Aids have gone off with other rock groups. She is collateral damage to the fame of others. William says a funny line to the almost unconscious Penny when he changes the opening line of Star Trek by saying he’s going where many have gone before, and tells her he loves her, which he follows with a kiss.

As Penny gets her stomach pumped, we ironically hear “My Cherie Amour,” whose lyrics about the pretty little girl who is adored contrast with the upsetting scene before William. Later he finally learns her real name is Lady Goodman, which she says her mother thought she would become and who she would marry. He says goodbye as she flies back home to San Diego.

The band is on a plane that hits an electrical storm. When it looks like they might not make it, they start to shout out confessions. One admits to being a hit-and-run driver, another says he is gay, Jeff says he slept with Leslie, and the affair between Russell and Penny comes out. When they call Penny just a “groupie,” William gets angry and says she cared about the band and they just used her, and he was in love with her. The threat of death makes everyone become real quickly, no longer hiding behind their false personas. As Russell and William say goodbye, Russell no longer is trying to suppress anything ugly about the band. He tells William to write whatever he wants.

At the Rolling Stone office William is grilled about what he has submitted, and he asks for one night to clean up the story. He talks to Lester, who again tells him he can’t be friends with the musicians. He knows they made William feel “cool,” but he is not cool, and neither is Lester. They are the “uncool.” And, Lester says most great art is about them. He says the art of those who are cool doesn’t last. The real art is about, “pain and conflict and guilt and longing.” Lester again says the best William can do for the musicians is to be “honest and unmerciful.”

William writes honestly and the magazine loves his story, especially about the confessions on the airplane. But when the factchecker calls the band, they feel like they all come off badly, in other words “uncool,” which is exactly how they behaved. The film suggests honesty that shows people as vulnerable is not what hero-worshipping is about. Russell denies almost all of the story, and the magazine drops William’s piece.

William meets his sister, Anita, at the airport in San Francisco. She sees that he has broken free of their mother and says they can have an adventure together. But, he decides at this point he needs the comfort and safety of home after his initiation into the actualities of his idealized vision of modern musicians. Mom is happy to see both her children despite their disobeying her. The implication is that unconditional love works that way.

At the end of the Stillwater tour, it takes one of the Band Aids, Sapphire (Fairuza Balk), to shame Russell about ditching Penny, almost causing her suicide, and denying William’s story. She says that being a true fan is dedicating yourself to the music and the band that creates it. Here, the dedicated fans come off as the honest ones.

Russell calls Penny. At first he lies, saying there are a lot of people around, so he can’t say much. He then realizes truth is the way to go and admits he is alone. He says he is sorry, and he’s best when he is around her. He wants her address so he can, this time, come to her.

She gives him an address, but it is William’s. When he arrives, Elaine says there’s hope for Russell yet, and she’s right. He called Rolling Stone and said everything William wrote was true. He realizes that they both wanted to be with Penny, but she wanted them to be together, so that is why she gave him William’s address. Russell realizes he never knew Penny’s real name. William smiles, because he does, which makes him feel special. William finally gets the interview with Russell he was aiming for, and it will be an honest one.

Penny flies off to Morocco where she said she always wanted to go. She seems to realize that it’s not just famous people who are interesting. By following her dream, so is she.

Award Winner

 My newest novel, Galloper's Quests, recently received third prize for literary fiction at the BookFest convention in California.

My father sparked my interest in science fiction. The first movie I saw in the theater was Forbidden Planet. Over time we watched The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits, and The Andromeda Strain and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. This interest led to me to writing a sci-fi novel:

Galloper’s Quests, based on Gulliver’s Travels, begins in 2079. Navy Captain Samuel Galloper is a scientist who continually seeks answers about the mysteries of the universe. The military only temporarily quieted his feverish mind through its regimented ways. Galloper invents a propulsion system that transforms matter into energy and can open wormholes. However, the military wants to steal his work and use it to wage war. So, Galloper decides to prevent the perversion of his invention by leaving Earth on a journey through the cosmos. He visits three planets whose inhabitants exhibit very different ways of dealing with life. He becomes involved in the armed conflict between two of the planets. Along the way he befriends aliens and a witty robot. He falls in love with an extraterrestrial who might know more about humanity than Galloper does. As Galloper nears the end of his quests, he must weigh the risks of returning to Earth. Will his invention fall into the wrong hands? Will anyone believe his story about his intergalactic travels? What fate awaits his new love if she goes with him?

https://www.amazon.com/Gallopers-Quests-Fall-Earth-Destiny/dp/B0DRTBVDM6/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_

Darkest Hour

 SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

The title of the film Darkest Hour (2017) refers to the saying that it’s always darkest before the dawn, implying that sometimes to reach a goal one must endure hardship. This movie focuses on England when Adolph Hitler’s Germany threatened the country, and specifically on Prime Minister Winston Churchill's role in escaping defeat and pushing forward to victory in World War II.

The story has several historical inaccuracies, as critics have pointed out, which must infuriate those that hope for accuracy in such a story. Apparently, Churchill had some ethnic purity beliefs of his own concerning the British people. However, this post will focus on the moviemaking aspect of the film.

The first images we see are those of countless soldiers and tanks, with Hitler and his military leaders plotting conquest. It is May, 1940, and Germany has already invaded Czechoslovakia, Poland, Denmark, and Norway according to onscreen notes. The shots set the stage for the daunting task of resisting such a formidable enemy.

The film shows the ensuing days by presenting the month and day in large print on the screen, with the days rolling down with loud thudding. The effect is to show the importance and weightiness of what is transpiring. (Think of the opening of All the President’s Men and how the typewriter keys are huge and noisy, showing the impact of what is written). There is a shot from above accompanied by shouting showing how the British government is under siege and not capable of exhibiting traditional restraint. Parliament has blamed Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (Ronald Pickup) for what has become known as his appeasement, allowing Germany to become stronger. The story depicts how sometimes accepted norms of behavior will not work when dealing with unstoppable aggression.

Chamberlain meets with other members of the Conservative Party and admits that they need a coalition with the opposition party. Those in attendance want Lord Halifax (Stephen Dillane) to be Prime Minister. However, Halifax declines, saying it is not his “time.” Chamberlain admits that only First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman, in an Oscar-winning performance for Best Actor, looks unrecognizable in the make-up and prosthetics, and inhabits the role) will be accepted by both parties. Churchill’s combative personality is not admired by those in attendance. The scene shows these men (no women in government at this time) dressed in stiff, elegant formal clothes, mirroring their superior attitude, divorced from the average citizen.

The next scene contrasts with these upper-class men by starting with the servants preparing to ready breakfast-in-bed for the fussy and demanding Churchill. He demeans his new secretary, Elizabeth Layton (Lily James), by harshly criticizing her while she takes dictation. The audience can see that Churchill can be overbearing and condescending. Churchill’s wife, Clementine (Kristen Scott Thomas) sees how upset Elizabeth is and says how her husband can be a brute, like all men. She adds a strong female aspect to this time ruled by war-waging men. She tells Churchill that he has become “rude” and “overbearing” lately, and if he does become Prime Minister, he will have to use diplomacy. He says that choosing him now is more like revenge. He has had setbacks in the past, including the lives lost at Gallipoli, and maybe that has soured him. She mentions that he has a “lack of vanity” and a “sense of humor,” (unlike the stuffy men shown earlier). She tries to make him show his finer parts. He hopes that, being old now, he can still be useful, saying when “youth departs, wisdom will be enough.” Later, Clementine says that they are financially broke due to his personal excesses. But he can be charming with her, recalling past lovely times, and funny, as when she asks if they are old, and he says to her, “you are.”

The film shows everyday people walking in slow motion in the streets, picking up trash, or going to the office. These are the individuals who will have their lives destroyed if Germany invades. Churchill seems to recognize his upper-class status and how it is divorced from the multitudes. He says he has never ridden a bus or been in line to purchase bread. The one time he tried using the English subway, he became lost.

King George VI (Ben Mendelsohn) summons Churchill after telling Chamberlain how much he regrets accepting his resignation, and how much he dislikes dealing with Churchill. (Chamberlain concedes that Churchill was right about the dangerous Hitler). When Churchill arrives, he and the King talk at quite a distance, showing their lack of common ground. They speak minimally as the King offers the leadership of the nation to Churchill, who must, reluctantly, approach the monarch and kiss his hand. George VI then wipes his hand on his back, so adverse he is to being in Churchill’s presence. The King says they will have to meet, “once a week, I’m afraid.” Churchill seems to agree about the visits being disagreeable, since he will not concede his four pm naptime. He later says meeting the King will be like having a tooth pulled once a week.

Clementine acknowledges that she knew from the start that Churchill would mainly be preoccupied with public life. She accepted that, as did their children. She unselfishly says that their sacrifice was for “the greater good.” The film is implying that not all members of a family can accept a subservient role honorably as did the Churchills. (It is interesting that Churchill critiques his own father for his lack of family attention, telling the King that his father was like God, because he was “busy elsewhere”).

When Churchill enters Parliament, it is like going into the lion’s den. Bells chime in the background like somber knells. There are intercut shots of Churchill giving his speech with scenes where he earlier edits it while dictating to his secretary. He alters words to make it more palatable to the government representatives, which shows the new Prime Minister exercising diplomacy as he ascends into his new role. He admits the huge task ahead and says in pursuit of defending the nation he will give his all, offering his “blood, toil, tears, and sweat.” Churchill makes no attempt, however, at disguising that they will be waging war and that victory is the goal, no matter the cost. Despite the menace of Naziism, the members are reluctant to show enthusiasm for going into all-out battle, and Chamberlain and Halifax plot to remove Churchill for not allowing for peace talks. Others consider him just a great orator whose ideas are dangerous, and that he is an alcoholic.

 There is a difficult choice to be made by Churchill. The Germans are moving swiftly through France, and he must decide whether to tell the public how dire are the circumstances, or to rouse the French and his own people to fight. He chooses the latter, but the French leaders call him “delusional,” given the Nazi onslaught. He wants to inspire with his speech to the English so as not to give into despair. The film poses the question as to whether it is ever an appropriate time not to be totally honest with the public. He speaks his words which contrast with the depiction of the casualties in France.

The film points to another instance of Churchill having to connect to the masses. He flashes what he considers the victory sign, but he initially does so with the palm of the hand turned inwards. His secretary, Elizabeth, reluctantly tells him that means “up your bum,” to the “poorer people.” They both have a large laugh about this mistake, which shows Churchill’s sense of humor, and his ability to adapt.

The story shows the enormity of the sacrifice that a leader must inflict in a large-scale war. It shows Churchill willing to sacrifice four thousand men at a garrison in Calais to divert the Germans so 300,000 soldiers can be rescued at Dunkirk. This decision, along with President Franklin Roosevelt not being able to act because of the passage of the Neutrality Act in the United States, and the fall of Belgium and soon France, stress how this is the darkest hour for Britain. Churchill makes his decision as Halifax and Chamberlain push for peace talks with Germany, with Italy as an intermediary.

Churchill plans Operation Dynamo to rescue the army at Dunkirk by utilizing as many seacraft as possible for the evacuation while the Calais garrison is suffering terrible losses. Halifax says fighting to the end means “the destruction of all things,” and he does not see that resistance against evil is worth that. Churchill obviously disagrees. He also realizes that “you cannot reason with a tiger when your head is its mouth.” However, Churchill eventually agrees to hear German terms of a negotiated peace when under extreme pressure exerted by Halifax and Chamberlain. Whenever Churchill hears Hitler in the background talking on the radio he becomes infuriated by the voce of repression.

Secretary Elizabeth breaks down in tears while Churchill dictates. He listens to her when she says nobody tells citizens the truth about what is happening. He takes her into the secret map room and explains the deadly situation at Dunkirk. Here we have an example of Churchill connecting with an everyday person, trusting her with the truth. She discovers that her brother died at Dunkirk, and he shows compassion towards her, while she encourages his ability to communicate.

He also receives encouragement from Clementine who says his life has prepared him for the burden he now shoulders. The King visits Churchill and the latter is honest about how dire is the situation. The King surprisingly supports Churchill and tells him to seek out the feelings of everyday people, as Churchill had advised him in the past.

As the evacuation of Dunkirk proceeds with unexpected great success, the slow-motion movement of the citizens is again presented as Churchill observes them from his car. He bolts out of the vehicle and descends literally and figuratively to the Underground to connect with his fellow English citizens. He jokes with them, saying to a new mother that all infants look like him. He learns their names and vocations. He asks them what they would do if the Germans invaded. They say, “fight the fascists!” He asks if they would accept a peace agreement with Hitler, and they say, “Never, never, never!” The final connection to the people occurs when he quotes a poem and one of the passengers finishes it.

Churchill goes to members of Parliament and quotes the people on the subway who said they felt that England would turn into a slave state if Germany invaded. He says how would they feel if the swastika flew over the houses of Parliament. The members now echo the feelings of their constituents in not giving into Nazism. He tells the war cabinet that they will not negotiate.

He invites Elizabeth to hear the words that she typed so as to cement the connection between them. Later Churchill gives his famous rousing, “We shall fight on the beaches,” speech. Even Chamberlain concedes. His speech foresees America entering the war that would eventually bring victory over hatred, which is what free and enlightened people fight for, a fight that is ongoing. The note at the end quotes Churchill who said, “it is the courage to continue that counts.”

Arrival

SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

Arrival (2016), directed by Denis Villeneuve, addresses the topic of communication between differing parties, how it can harm if misused or misunderstood, or heal if used properly. The film challenges the audience to see language as a way of viewing existence in a totally different way to which people are accustomed.

 Slow mournful music opens the film as Louise Banks (Amy Adams) narrates, “I used to think this was the beginning of your story. Memory is a strange thing. It doesn’t work the way I thought it did. We are so bound by time, by its order.” She looks at her infant daughter, Hannah. She seems to remember the girl’s life as she grew up. But her life was cut short by an illness. She then says, “But now I’m not so sure I believe in beginnings and endings. There are days that define your story beyond your life.” The opening appears to be a memory of something in the past. But it is not, as we learn. Time in this story is not linear. Her daughter’s name is Hannah, which is a palindrome. Its forward and backward spelling symbolizes a similar movement in time, as the story explores. (The title of the film could have many references. It could refer to the birth of a baby, arriving at a conclusion, as well as the landing of aliens).

The movie then shifts to when aliens arrive on Earth. Louise is an eminent linguistics professor. Her students interrupt her with news of the arrival of twelve spaceships on the planet, one in Montana. Later, Army Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker) visits Louise and he points out that she helped the government in the past with translations and has a top-secret clearance. He asks her to attempt to translate the sounds made by two of the aliens’ voices recorded on a brief audio clip. She says since the language is a new one, she must interact with the visitors. Her response stresses the need for the coming together of different parties for communication to occur, which supports the main theme of the film. After he realizes Louise is the best choice for the job he agrees to take her to the landing site. 

On the helicopter flight she meets Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), an experimental physicist, with whom she will be working. He quotes her when he says, “Language is the foundation of civilization. It is the glue that holds a people together. It is the first weapon drawn in a conflict.” The statement shows the dual nature of language, which can be used for friendly and hostile ends. (Many conflicts start with verbal accusations. However, we know that sometimes aggression towards another can just be the desire for a power-grab with no preceding argument). Ian disagrees with her, saying science is the “foundation.” From the start these two are from differing camps, and need to bridge the gap between them, just as the bigger story shows the requirement for nations to unite, and two species to come to a meeting of the minds.

 

The spacecraft is oval in shape and looks like a seashell. It stands on its vertical axis instead of sitting flat, which is what we would expect it to do. The position suggests that these aliens do not conform to our perception of what is routine. After arriving at the landing site, Louise and Ian wear protective gear, including an oxygen supply. These layers of apparel show how the start of a connection with others begins with a distancing step.

Weber says that every eighteen hours a door opens at the bottom tip of the spacecraft to allow visitors. Once they enter the opening, gravity changes and they can walk on the wall as if it was a floor. This phenomenon is another uncommon element which must be learned to make contact. (The soundtrack has siren that are similar to what The Purge films contain. Here, its use is ironic because it underlines how humans are apprehensive of the unknown, which can prevent the making of a connection with others).

The chamber in which Louise and Ian confront the aliens has a transparent barrier separating the two races. It is another actual and symbolic barrier to overcome. The aliens are very different than us. They are shrouded in a fog, again stressing the need to break through confusion towards some kind of clarity. Two approach the glass and each has seven tentacles, which leads to them being called “Heptapods” Louise feels overwhelmed at this first encounter, so she is not able to initiate any attempt at communication. Her response shows the difficulty dealing with those that differ so much from what we are accustomed to.

The people of Earth react with fear and apprehension as states of emergency are declared, looting occurs, travel is canceled, economies tank, and militaries prepare for fighting. The movie suggests that fear is a roadblock to understanding. One soldier on a phone call to home hears that his children are afraid “the monsters” are going to kill the father. The film here shows the narrow-minded fear of humans can block out understanding.

Louise tries written communication by using a pre-digital white-board to show a human alphabet. The Heptapods respond by secreting an ink-like substance (sort of what squid on Earth do) that illustrates their lettering. It is interesting that their graphics are circular, which points to how their minds work as we see later in the tale. Louise justifies using the written form of communication because it helps lessen misunderstanding. She makes up a story saying that when the natives of Australia were asked what the animals who hop around are called, they said, “kangaroo,” which Captain Cook decided to name the animals. But the word actually means, “I don’t understand.” Weber inserts the military attitude of being wary of anything foreign when he says that Louise should be careful what she teaches them so as not to give an advantage to possibly aggressive invaders. His response shows the defensive, fearful human attitude as opposed to the academic curious response.

Louise explains to Weber that asking, “what are your intentions?” is too complex a question to ask the newcomers up front. She must have them understand what a question is, and the difference between a personal “you” and the inclusive “you” that can include a whole people. So, she must have time to build a foundation of understanding. That patience from an impatient military standpoint is difficult to accept.

At the next session, the courageous Louise takes off her hazmat suit to break away from a distancing connection toward a personal one. She puts her open hand against the screen, and the alien does the same with its starfish-like end of its tentacle. They have exchanged a sort of “hello.” Now, when she writes her name on the white-board it shows it is easier to make the connection between the name and the person. Ian does the same, shedding his suit and writing his name on the board. The two Heptapods illustrate what appears to be their names. Ian calls them “Abbott and Costello.” For those who are too young to know, they made up a comedy team. But more significantly, their “Who’s on First” routine showed how confusing language can be.

As Louise immerses herself in the alien language she gets visions of her daughter. Again, we believe these are recollections. In these visions, we become aware that she and Hannah’s father have separated.

Ian narrates their findings at this point. He says unlike human languages that have sounds that correlate to the written forms, the alien language does not have that association. It “contains meaning. It doesn’t represent sound.” Ian thanks Pakistan for concluding that the aliens use a “logogram: which is free of time.” (The fact that another country has a breakthrough stresses the idea that cooperation between differing cultures can be a plus). Ian says that the extraterrestrial ship leaves no definite “footprint” since it has no traceable impact in terms of radiation, sound, or any other measurable form. The craft doesn’t even touch the ground. He says, “their written language has no forward or backward direction.” That sums up the circular images, which have variations on the circumferences of the circles to differentiate them. He adds, “Linguists call this nonlinear orthography, which raises the question, ‘is this how they think?’” They can see the beginning and end of a sentence simultaneously, and thus can write a complex sentence quickly. Here we have the idea of seeing time as nonlinear. (Why is Ian narrating here instead of Louise, the linguist? It could represent that Louise’s way of thinking is reaching another being whose background differs from hers, and thus meaning is being conveyed).

Ian and Louise sit out in the evening together, away from all the frenzy around them, where fear seems to rule social media platforms. He says how fortunate it is that he has her to work with, and she sees that all the work comes down to the two of them, which he sees as an attribute. They are not only bridging the gap between their two disciplines but also emphasizing the importance of a single interpersonal connection.

Ian has been reading about what Louise calls the “Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis” that says immersing yourself in a language “rewires your brain.” Louise says the theory states that “the language you speak determines how you think.” Louise, for the purposes of this story, is beginning to think like the aliens.

Weber and Louise are concerned because General Shang (Tzi Ma) of China makes an address that Louise concludes has references to mahjong. Louise sees the danger in trying to communicate by using game strategy because it uses language involving “opposition, victory, defeat.” She says, “If all I ever gave you was a hammer …” then, concludes Weber, “Everything’s a nail.” Here the film shows how a narrow view can block out the big picture and focus on negative interpretations.

Weber pushes Louise to ask what are the aliens’ purpose here. The response is “use weapon.” Louise, probably realizing the word “weapon” may have come from what the Chinese were communicating, stresses that the Heptapods may mean “tool.” The paranoid view of Agent Halpern (Michael Stuhlbarg) is the aliens, not seeing one ruler of the planet, wants the various nations “to fight among ourselves until only one faction prevails.” He says that world history shows that imperialistic nations have used this tactic in the past, implying it makes conquest simpler.

The nations had been cooperating but now are breaking off communications because of the leads of China and Russia becoming alarmed about the “use weapon” translation. They consider it a hostile attempt by the aliens to cause people to fight among themselves. Louise has the voice of sanity as she states the primary theme of this story: “We should be talking to each other!”

Now, using the information from prior sessions, Louise can use digital technology to transmit alien symbols to communicate quickly. Inside the spacecraft, the alien tells her to touch the transparent barrier and write on it directly to close the gap between them. Abbott and Costello transmit a complicated message. However, some scared military operatives planted explosives aboard the craft. As the explosion occurs, Abbott expels Louise and Ian from the meeting area to save them, showing the aliens’ nonviolent desires.

China issues an ultimatum to the aliens to leave within twenty-four hours or face destruction, and other countries line up behind General Shang. Meanwhile as Ian and Louise try to make sense out of the last communication, Louise has a dream of her daughter wanting a scientific word for a win-win scenario. She tells Hannah to ask her father. It is here that we may realize that the father is Ian.

Ian makes a breakthrough in his analysis of the alien message. He says the symbol for time appears all over the communication. Also, a 3-D illustration shows that the message sent by the Washington aliens occupies one twelfth of a larger message, shown by gaps in the image. Louise suggests that the full message is split between the twelve crafts and that the Heptapods want all the nations to collaborate in order to decipher a complete transmission. The aliens are encouraging unity, for all nations to take a leap to understand the whole picture, not just fractional perspectives. Ian says that they should make an effort to share what they have learned with other nations, implying the need to open the lines of communication and cooperation. But Halpern says that nobody is listening to anyone else, suggesting that the truth is not getting out. The film could be saying that is the problem with our world today.

The shell spacecraft now rises higher in the air, as if suggesting that it is up to the people of Earth to take charge. They do, however, send down a pod for Louise to access the ship. She enters a vaporous area behind the barrier from which an alien emerges. The full size of Costello appears, and it is taller than what Louise previously saw, with a type of head at the top. It is as if she is now gaining more knowledge coming out of a cloud of confusion. She is communicating verbally with them now and they understand each other. Costello says Abbots is dying, probably from the blast, a sacrifice made for humanity. He says they are helping Earth’s inhabitants because in three thousand years they will need our help. She asks how can they know the future, and then she sees a vision of Hannah again. When she asks who is the child, the audience now concludes that it is the future she now sees. She has been rewired and can think like the visitors. The “weapon” is really a tool, and it is language. (Of course, even though learning a new language may change how we order words and parts of speech, stress some aspects of life more than others, it doesn’t mean we actually are able to perceive existence to the level of, say, an Einstein, or have prescience. But, for the themes of this film, it works symbolically).

As the camp disbands, Louise hears her daughter say, “Wake up Mommy.” It’s as if she is telling Louise to realize what is happening. Louise has a premonition of meeting General Shang at a formal reception arranged by the President. Shang says that eighteen months ago she was able to change his mind, something nobody has done. He says that she contacted him on his “private number.” She says she doesn’t know it. He shows her his cell phone and says, “Now you know.” She takes this future information and uses it to contact Shang in the present on Halpern’s phone. He tells her the final words of Shang’s dying wife which only he could know, and she says them in Mandarin in the present. That act showed Shang that what she learned was a gift from the aliens and led him to give up aggression and seek unification with other countries. We get a view of a book she will publish called The Universal Language. It most likely will teach the people of Earth to learn the language of the aliens, and, maybe, think like them, thus allowing for that help for the aliens in the future.

In the present, their job done, the aliens leave. Ian admits that despite what he was looking for in the stars, he found meeting Louise is the most important discovery in his life. The stress here is on individuals. She holds him and we have a shot of them embracing in the future, as time collapses. She says in the present how she forgot how good it feels hugging him. Of course, the irony is this time is the first.

She asks him in that moment, if he knew his life from beginning to end, would he change anything. That is the final question this film asks us. She changed history by deciding to call Shang to tell him what she learned. But what about knowing that her daughter will die of a rare, incurable illness? Louise gives her answer when she says, in narration, “So, Hannah... This is where your story begins. The day they departed. Despite knowing the journey... and where it leads... I embrace it. And I welcome every moment of it.” She decides to go ahead with marrying Ian and having her daughter, even though she knows Ian will leave her for not telling her about this tragic moment in their future. He believed she made the wrong choice. The film asks us, what would we do?