SYNOPSIS: When mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team - lead by expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) - are brought together to investigate. As mankind teeters on the verge of global war, Banks and the team race against time for answers – and to find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity.

REVIEW:

Max Vatan: Heard a lot about you, saying you were beautiful... and good.

Marianne Beausejour: Being good at this kind of work is not very beautiful.

Yeah but the fact remains that she IS beautiful and this is where the whole complication starts. This is a very well made period piece with an excellent cast, an excellent director, and an excellent story. Let's break that down shall we starting with the period piece. We pretty much start our journey with these two in Casablanca of all places. Can it get any more enchanting than that? The various scenery and backdrops, sets and props, costumes, hairdos, make-up, etc. were all just perfect. And don't get Priscilla started on the dresses, I mean even I was impressed. And who better to drop some of these breath taking gowns on than Marion Cotillard. This takes us to the second bullet point, the cast. Marion really stole the show but of course Brad Pitt is a very, very close second. Marion was perfectly cast for this role. She has the right acting skill and nationality to nail it. Plus, especially if you've seen Dark Knight Rises, she is very good at playing a deceiving character.

Marianne Beausejour: I'm very good at pretending, Max.

Then there's Brad. What can possibly be said about Brad Pitt. He is one of the most handsome men in the world and his looks are only surpassed by his acting abilities. Opposite Marion, well yeah, he is right on and overall he does about as good as you'd expect with his performance. Now this might be a good moment to discuss the elephant in the room. This is kind of like a "newer" but "older" Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Two agents, opposite sides, get married and all kinds of havoc is unleashed as a result. Well getting down to the realistic aspect of it, I will have to admit that there was a more palpable chemistry between Brad and Angelina than Brad and Marion. I would guess that the rumors about these two that Marion immediately shot down are indeed not true. Nonetheless, there is some good chemistry between them in the film. As in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, it is quite the predicament the main characters find themselves in. In the Smiths it is a bit more fun, action based, and exciting whereas in this film it is a much more serious tone, with plenty of tension, doubt, thrills, and chills.

S.O.E. Official: Commander, tell me about your wife.

Max Vatan: We met at Casablanca, where together we assassinated the German ambassador. She's the mother of my child.

S.O.E. Official: We believe your wife is a double agent.

The rest of the cast supported these two and the story very well. Everything flowed nicely. So we already touched on the excellent story bullet point which only leaves the excellent director to discuss. Well, the director of this film is Robert Zemeckis . . . does anything else really need to be said? Let's wrap it up with some other good features of the film such as it's sharp dialogue. They did a pretty good job with cinematography too. Lastly, let's just say that we are treated to a poignant climax. So we have a WWII film starring Pitt and Cotillard with Zemeckis at the helm. Of course it's good!