IMDb plot summary: Dr. Ellie Arroway, after years of searching, finds conclusive radio proof of extraterrestrial intelligence, sending plans for a mysterious machine.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis. Starring Jodie Foster, Matthew McConnaughey, Tom Skerritt, and William Fichtner.
When Arrival came out a couple years ago, a lot of people compared it to Contact, but honestly the two are extremely different. Contact is concerned with the big-picture questions, the grandiose nature of life on other planets and the bigness of the universe and the existence or non-existence of God and how faith fits into the realm of science. Arrival is about the details, the details of linguistics and the details of one mother's journey through motherhood, and even though there are big-picture concerns with Arrival as well, it's very much a more focused story. Contact is good, and Jodie Foster is so very good in her role, but it drowns a little bit in its bigness, especially in its third act, and that keeps the emotional component from coming through as clearly as I wanted it to. Still solid, still a very interesting ride, but not as emotionally powerful as I expected and hoped for.
How it entered my Flickchart:
Contact > Tarzan
Contact > Sleeping with Other People
Contact < Breakfast at Tiffany's
Contact < The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall
Contact > Corrina, Corrina
Contact > Gone Baby Gone
Contact < Mr. Brooks
Contact < Father of the Bride (1991)
Contact < Hairspray Live!
Contact < Match Point
Contact < Center Stage
Contact < Shakespeare Behind Bars
Final spot: #571 out of 2812.
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