Arrival
Linguistics professor Louise Banks leads an elite team of investigators when gigantic spaceships touchdown in 12 locations around the world. As nations teeter on the verge of global war, Banks and her crew must race against time to find a way to communicate with the extraterrestrial visitors. Hoping to unravel the mystery, she takes a chance that could threaten her life and quite possibly all of mankind.
Despite a respectable budget of $47.0M, Arrival became a commercial success, earning $203.4M worldwide—a 333% return.
1 Oscar. 71 wins & 268 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Arrival (2016) exhibits strategically placed narrative design, characteristic of Denis Villeneuve's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 11-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 56 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.5, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Dr. Louise Banks
Ian Donnelly
Colonel Weber
General Shang
Main Cast & Characters
Dr. Louise Banks
Played by Amy Adams
A brilliant linguist recruited by the military to communicate with extraterrestrial visitors, haunted by memories of her daughter.
Ian Donnelly
Played by Jeremy Renner
A theoretical physicist who partners with Louise to decode the alien language and develops a close bond with her.
Colonel Weber
Played by Forest Whitaker
A pragmatic U.S. Army officer who recruits Louise and manages the Montana site with military efficiency and growing respect for the scientists.
General Shang
Played by Tzi Ma
Chinese military leader who initially advocates for aggressive action against the aliens but becomes key to peaceful resolution.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Louise Banks teaches linguistics at university, living in quiet solitude. Flash-forwards show her with daughter Hannah, establishing a life filled with love and eventual loss that we initially perceive as memories.. Notably, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 13 minutes when Twelve alien spacecraft arrive at locations around the globe. Louise's classroom empties as students check phones. The world stops. Colonel Weber appears on her campus seeking her help.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
At 57 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Structural examination shows that this crucial beat The heptapods write "offer weapon." Global tensions spike. China, Russia, and others prepare for military action. What seemed like first contact becomes potential war. The stakes explode. Time is running out., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 86 minutes (74% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, China breaks off communication and prepares to attack. A rogue military unit plants a bomb in the shell. Abbott is mortally wounded saving Louise and Ian. Louise is pulled from the site. All contact is lost. War seems inevitable., shows the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Synthesis at 92 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Louise experiences the future gala where she approaches General Shang. He gives her his private number. In the present, she calls him, recites his wife's dying words. He stands down. The world follows. The shells depart. Louise chooses her future with Ian, knowing Hannah will die young., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Arrival's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 11 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs systematic plot point analysis that identifies crucial turning points. By mapping Arrival against these established plot points, we can identify how Denis Villeneuve utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Arrival within the drama genre.
Denis Villeneuve's Structural Approach
Among the 7 Denis Villeneuve films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 5.9, showcasing experimental approaches to narrative form. Arrival represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Denis Villeneuve filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include Eye for an Eye, Kiss of the Spider Woman and Radical. For more Denis Villeneuve analyses, see Sicario, Incendies and Dune: Part Two.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Louise Banks teaches linguistics at university, living in quiet solitude. Flash-forwards show her with daughter Hannah, establishing a life filled with love and eventual loss that we initially perceive as memories.
Theme
Hannah's voice asks "Mommy, what is your name?" The question of identity, language, and how we define ourselves through communication becomes the thematic core.
Worldbuilding
Louise's isolated academic life is established. Her expertise in rare languages and her methodical, empathetic approach to communication are demonstrated. The world is normal, quiet, ordered.
Disruption
Twelve alien spacecraft arrive at locations around the globe. Louise's classroom empties as students check phones. The world stops. Colonel Weber appears on her campus seeking her help.
Resistance
Weber recruits Louise and physicist Ian Donnelly. They debate the approach to communication. Louise resists, then agrees. They travel to Montana, enter the shell, and make first contact with the heptapods in the white gravity-defying room.
Act II
ConfrontationPremise
Louise decodes the heptapod language. She names them Abbott and Costello. Flash-forwards intensify as Louise begins thinking in their language. She learns vocabulary, grammar, and slowly the recursive structure of their written form. The joy of discovery.
Midpoint
The heptapods write "offer weapon." Global tensions spike. China, Russia, and others prepare for military action. What seemed like first contact becomes potential war. The stakes explode. Time is running out.
Opposition
Nations cease collaboration and prepare attacks. Weber demands immediate answers. Louise realizes "weapon" might mean "tool." Her visions intensify. She pushes deeper into the language, fighting against military timelines and global paranoia.
Collapse
China breaks off communication and prepares to attack. A rogue military unit plants a bomb in the shell. Abbott is mortally wounded saving Louise and Ian. Louise is pulled from the site. All contact is lost. War seems inevitable.
Crisis
Louise grieves Abbott's death and processes her visions. Ian explains the heptapods' language rewires cognition. Louise begins to understand: she's not remembering the past, she's experiencing the future. Hannah hasn't been born yet.
Act III
ResolutionSynthesis
Louise experiences the future gala where she approaches General Shang. He gives her his private number. In the present, she calls him, recites his wife's dying words. He stands down. The world follows. The shells depart. Louise chooses her future with Ian, knowing Hannah will die young.