The science fiction film Arrival tells a deceptively simple story of 12 extra-terrestrial spaceships landing on Earth and explores the plotline of linguist Louise Banks, being sent by the U.S. military to to find out why the aliens have arrived.

The first contact turns out to be far more than anyone on Earth bargained for. Directed by Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Sicario) and starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker, Arrival has been one of my most anticipated movies of Oscar season.

I love the cast and director and my hopes were extremely high, given the film’s rave reviews. The movie did not disappoint in the least. Arrival is an intelligent, cerebral science fiction of a breed we don’t see much anymore.

Adams has long been one of Hollywood’s most impressive actresses. From the light and funny Enchanted to a gritty drama like The Fighter, she gives it her all and never fails to amaze.

Surprising no one, Adams’ performance in Arrival is top-notch, with far more layered nuance than I expected. Without giving anything major away, her character Louise’s story arc is such an emotional roller-coaster with so many twists and turns that I stayed glued to the screen the entire runtime, even when the plot itself got slow. With this performance, don’t count Adams out for an Oscar nomination this year.

Arrival is also a visually beautiful film, both in effects and cinematography. Denis Villeneuve and cinematographer Bradford Young clearly have well-trained cinematic eyes and it shows in nearly every shot.

Whether our characters are ascending the spaceship to meet the aliens, looking over symbols in the laboratory or just sitting around at home, everything has a polished and glossy, but still realistic look. On a smaller note, the aliens are also uniquely designed and effectively un-human.

But good science fiction isn’t just aliens and spaceships, it’s about exploring complex ideas through a new framework. The film takes our fascination with first contact (Are they here for peace? War? Vacation?) and creates a fascinating tale of the importance of cooperation and the philosophy of speech. Without giving anything away, Louise and her colleagues learning the aliens’ language and the attempts of the world to comprehend them, offer crucial lessons in open-mindedness and international teamwork.

Arrival is not a sci-fi action film. Our heroes aren’t going to rush into the spaceship, guns blazing. But if you’re up for a unique sci-fi head trip with an excellent, slow-burn of a story, wonderful direction and another star turn for Adams, rush to a theater to see this as soon as possible. It’s definitely a film worth supporting.

Grade: A