Denis Villeneuve: Using His Platform to Uplift Woman

Some of you may know Denis Villeneuve as the director of the recent blockbuster Dune movie, but he has been at the helm of an impressive number of films praised for their stunning cinematography and representation of heroines. One of these films is Arrival which features Amy Adams as the movie's protagonist, Louise Banks. In an interview, Villeneuve recalled his first ever feature for which he consciously chose a female protagonist. He insisted on challenging himself to represent a perspective that is somewhat foreign to him and offers an opportunity for female actors to take lead roles. 

The aforementioned ideals are best represented through Arrival's plot and characters which are reinforced by the fact that Villeneuve has had significant input in how characters and themes of the film would be represented. His effort to recognize the beauty of femininity represent it in his films is very intentional may be commendable to those hoping to see more films featuring female protagonists. 

Amy Adams (pictured above on the set of Arrival to the right of Villeneuve) can undoubtedly offer great insight given her time collaboratively working with the director. Her insight led her to comment that “Denis managed to make an emotional science fiction movie that feels intimate" through Arrival. He also manages to capture intimacy through his use of the telephoto lens to present detail that would otherwise be unobservable to the human eye. The ability to capture this feeling of intimacy within a genre that has often neglected this feeling in favor of fixating on technical aspects of its films is especially notable and has earned Villeneuve a great reputation amongst filmmakers and critics alike. 

Perhaps his success can be partially credited to a period of incubation, or as defined by our class material, a time away from the issue which in this case would be a fear of repetition of techniques and concepts already prevalent in the industry. He took multiple years away from filmmaking and screenwriting to come back with a sense of rejuvenation and preparedness to continue directing movies. 

Villeneuve's creative process for developing his films involves significant energy and time from the director. One interviewer commented on the Arrival film "Sucking up every minute of his time, every joule of his energy, and he was worried that in his exhaustion, he wasn’t making sense." It is interesting to note that for Villeneuve, directing, though not typically thought to be physically demanding, is an experience that has significant implications on both his physical and mental state. Arrival clearly benefited from his efforts as it has received acclaim from both general audiences and professionals in the industry. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/13/movies/denis-villeneuve-interview-arrival.html

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Denis-Villeneuve