Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi drama Arrival hit theaters in 2016 and earned rave reviews from
critics, thanks to Amy Adams' brilliant performance, Villeneuve's excellent direction, and a mature,
focused take on the alien invasion genre.
But that doesn't mean it isn't confusing.
In fact, Arrival's focus on linguistics and space-time theory is tough to untangle, and
only seems to get more complex the deeper you dive into it.
But we've got you covered.
If you're ready to dig deep and don't mind spoilers, here's everything you need to know
about Arrival's confusing ending.
The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
If you want to understand this complex film, first you need to wrap your head around the
linguistic theory at the center of it, which holds that our perception of reality is either
altered or determined by the language we speak.
An example of the hypothesis in action: the Hungarian word for "raccoon"—an animal that
doesn't exist in Central Europe outside of television and zoos—is "mosómedve," which
literally translates to "washing bear."
The idea is that Hungarians' colorful term for raccoons also affects their perception
of the creature itself, so that they see and understand it differently than those of us
who just call a raccoon a raccoon… or a trash panda.
Rewiring Louise's brain
So, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis states that our reality is determined by our language.
In Arrival, that argument is pushed to its outer limits.
Dr. Louise Banks is the one who first begins to truly learn and comprehend the Heptapod's
strange, non-linear mode of communication.
Thus, she's also the first to perceive reality, space, and time the same way the aliens do.
The total overhaul of Louise's reality begins shortly after she teaches the heptapods her
and Ian's names.
While dissecting some printouts of the alien language, she has this vision of her daughter
playing with a caterpillar in a field—a moment easily dismissed as a random memory
of the daughter she lost.
But these flashbacks intensify and appear more frequently as she learns more of the
Heptapods' language, leading to a bombshell moment in which what seemed like memories
are now revealed to be visions of Louise's future:
"I don't understand, who is this child?"
Weapon opens time
Dr. Banks' job is to find out why the Heptapods came to Earth, leading to a global international
crisis when the Heptapods say that they're here to, quote, "give weapon."
But what Louise realizes is that the aliens don't really mean "weapon"; they mean "tool,"
and the tool they intend to give humanity is their language — which will come in handy
3,000 years from now, when the Heptapods face extinction and need humanity's help.
Since people who speak Heptapod experience time in non-linear form, they're capable of
drawing on experiences from anywhere within their own existence to make choices and change
events.
That's how Louise is able to flash forward 18 months to the gala where she encounters
Chinese General Shang, who tells her what she said to him to stop him from starting
a war of the worlds in the present.
And since Shang has learned to speak heptapod himself in those intervening months, he also
perceives time non-linearly — so he knows that what he tells Louise in his timeline
will be useful to her past self.
Confused?
Let Rust Cohle help you out.
"We see… our space-time would look flattened."
Heptapod time is like that beer can: a flat circle.
And on a flat circle, cause-and-effect can happen in any direction.
What Louise says to Shang leads him to speak to her at the gala — but what Shang says
to Louise at the gala also leads her to say what she said.
And that makes perfect sense, as long as you accept one more hypothesis.
Everything is pre-determined
Needless to say, Louise returns from her mental flash-forward to make the phone call that
saves the world, and everyone lives happily — or tragically — ever after.
But what if she simply chose not to?
That's the bad news: she can't choose.
"Now you know."
In order for that future conversation at the gala to happen — and it does — Louise
has to follow through on the phone call.
This is the other big difference between linear and non-linear time.
In linear time, you can make choices that alter the shape of your future; you might
be able to move in only one direction, but every choice you make represents a fork in
the road.
In non-linear time, life is a circular track on which you can travel either backward or
forwards, but there's no branching off.
The existence of free will is fundamentally incompatible with a non-linear experience
of time, which is also the heart of Arrival.
Speaking heptapod gives Louise the ability to see the future, but shatters her illusions
of ever being able to change it.
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