Best EVER movie Performances - Amy Adams in Arrival

Amy Adams is recognised as one of the best actresses of her generation and has been nominated for a whopping six Academy Awards - for Junebug, Doubt, The Fighter, The Master, American Hustle and Vice.

Surprisingly, one of her greatest performances did not even warrant a nomination and that is her outing as Louise Banks in Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi epic, Arrival.

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The 2016 movie tells the story of an acclaimed linguist, played by Adams, who is recruited by the United States government to establish contact with extraterrestrials who have recently landed on Earth.

Arrival was Villeneuve's first venture into science-fiction, having achieved widespread acclaim for his previous films such as Prisoners and Sicario.

The film is undoubtedly impressive as a science-fiction piece - the aliens depicted are unique, there is definite scale and threat, and also major moments of tension throughout.

But, what is most interesting about Arrival is the human aspect, and that is brought by Adams.

What makes Adams' performance in Arrival so good?

When a conversation arises about Arrival, the natural thing will be to focus on the fantastical elements of the story such as the aliens themselves, or indeed their landscape shadowing vertical spaceships.

Critically as well as commercially, it was a hit. And, interestingly, it has received positive reviews from linguistics and communications experts.

David Adger, a linguist professor who teaches at Queen Mary University of London, said: "The portrayal of trying different hypotheses about the language, coming up with generalizations, and testing them out was spot on."

When Arrival starts, we are presented with a standard, if very effective set-up of aliens landing on Earth combined with the need to make peaceful contact.

However, as it progresses, it evolves into a study of the human condition and choice.

Throughout, we are given glimpses of Louise's relationship with her daughter, while the father of the child remains absent.

It is later revealed that Louise has been given a gift of foresight by the aliens. She is able to see visions of her future, which in turn show the viewer that the previous glimpses of the relationship with her daughter are in the future, not the past.

We see her daughter Hanna's health deteriorate until death due to an incurable disease.

Louise becomes aware of this before it happens, and must make a heart-wrenching decision:

Should she have her child knowing that they will die, while also experiencing the love of a mother, even for a small amount of time?

Or, should she avoid the pain of grief, though she will never experience the love she had for Hannah who would remain unborn?

Adams must convey the consequences and feelings surrounding these decisions while not really having someone to play off within the film itself. Her closest confidant in the movie is physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner), whom she cannot speak to about the situation as he is in fact the man who will father her child.

The emotional torment that Adams goes through is evident, but she is forced to convey it without words - just like the aliens are forced to communicate without words.

On paper, this is a sci-fi movie about aliens landing on earth, but it is really about parental love and the choices we make.

What have people said about Adams in Arrival?

Brian Truitt of USA Today said of Adams' performance:

"Adams is spectacular in giving Louise the right emotional balance: She isn't fazed when aliens show up and the rest of the Earth stands still.

"But a sense of wonder emerges as the linguist becomes obsessed with the alien language, even going rogue when she needs to make everyone else understand its importance."

What is Adams' best scene?

As Arrival reaches its climax, we speed through the life of Hannah, from her birth to her death, with Adams going through all the emotions in between.

Did Adams win any awards for her performance?

Adams was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.