This Oscar season is seeing many complex women’s roles vying for the Best Actress Oscar.
Arrival is a sci-fi about an alien invasion, at the center of which there is a strong woman, played by Amy Adams.
In the film, which played well as the Telluride and Toronto film festivals, alien ships land all over Earth, causing several countries to attempt contact with the visitors.
The US representative is linguist Louise Banks, played by Amy Adams in a serious mode that seems to stem from the loss of her young daughter.
Canadian director Denis Villeneuve (“Sicario,” “Prisoners”) is a gifted filmmakers, who likes intelligent, multi-layered stories, often centering on women, which offer both visceral and intellectual thrills.
Adams is one of the most prolific actresses and has been nominated for five Academy Awards, four of which in the Supporting Actress league.
But this is the first time she is playing a mother. She is the mother of a young daughter in real life, she didn’t feel it was a requirement for playing Louise: “I would have emotionally connected to the character anyway. But I think being a mom it hit me in a very different place. Love exists inside the knowledge of loss and I’ve never played that before, I’ve never had to tap into that as an actress and honor that reality.”
