Film Review: Close Encounters of the Third Kind

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Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) is a Sci-Fi/Drama, that has the capabilities of delivering an emotionally mixed nostalgic sensation to its audience. The film creates a mysterious atmosphere throughout the whole film, leading up to the highly anticipated introduction of the extraordinary alien visitors, who's presence lurks powerfully all the way leading up to this moment. But the captivating part of the film besides the wait for the unravelling of the visitors' arrival, is the unbreakable hold that a bleak but strangely addictive vision has over the main character Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss). This temping psychic magnet has Roy putting his everyday repetitive life on hold, while he obsessively chases this magical calling. 

Figure. 1. Close Encounters of the Third Kind film poster.
The strange sightings and UFOs start by making appearances in desert locations, then are spotted in Muncie, Indiana by multiple citizens. One of these witnesses is Roy Neary, a father and husband to what is presented in the film as a slightly frenzied and hectic family, that seem to test his patience at times. Roy's family life doesn't necessarily seem terrible at all, though it is made apparent that it adds to the stress that Roy contemplates in his daily life, along with any other of his tedious surroundings. "Roy reading a newspaper and trying to have a banal conversation with his family about their weekend plans, while his son repeatedly smashes a toy doll in the background. It's that repetitive, silly act that informs us of how redundant Roy's life has become - he doesn't have a bad life, nor is it a particularly charmed existence, but he is stuck the way most of us are stuck in our daily habits, relying on that which has become second nature as if we're floating through the days on autopilot." (Hayes, 2015) It is one of the things that draws us to Roy's character and partially understand him, the fact that the audience can relate to Roy for their own personal reasons or views on life. His position that he's in might be exactly the same as some viewers, while rather dissimilar to others, but either way the idea that life is becoming a bland, repetitive, daily routine is something that everyone can relate to themselves. 

Roy's family doesn't start to fall apart until later in the film, after he becomes hugely preoccupied with something else. That transpires after Roy sees the strange psychedelic lights from the UFOs in the sky, and when he becomes worryingly close to one while in his car. When the ginormous spotlight shines immensely down at his car, one of the first natural assumptions to be made is that Roy is going to be abducted or something awful is going to happen. Instead, the car is released from this explainable force clutching it, followed by the power in his car turning back on. It's quite disappointing when the UFO releases him, as already the audience are rooting for Roy and want something exciting and new to happen to him. The alien presence is unsettling and typically suggests danger, but if it were to take Roy then his life would surely disengage from the monotonous routine he is stuck inside. Despite the unfamiliar mood that this UFO gives off, that element isn't so important. Its importance lies with the fact that it is an opportunity, an invite into the unknown that subconsciously we have all wished for at least once in our lives. It is something bigger than life, it is the strange instinctual gut feeling tied with unexplored dreams of individuals, it is the unrealistic but idyllic paradise of rapture that lives in the back of our minds. It is here that Roy is so close to this potential miracle, whether he knows it or not, and then it just leaves him, remaining stranded in a world that he is uninterested in remaining in. After the encounter (that leaves him with a vertically split sun burn down his body) he starts having visions and strange sensations that he becomes obsessed with. A messily piled mountainous shape is something that he starts seeing everywhere he goes. He tries sculpting the shape out of shaving cream, then out of potato while at the dinner table with his family. It is here that Roy is clearly distracted away from his family and everyday life, putting its importance to the side as a second priority. He is working hard to learn what this shape is, and he is putting lots of his own time into it. What makes it more exciting is the fact that the audience are unaware of the shape, making this journey just as exciting and mysterious as it is for Roy. This part of the film shows progression in Roy, which is ironic as he appears to be losing his mind quickly. Instead of watching him live his dull life while stripped of excitement and larger goals, we now see him pursuing something that he is enthusiastic about. Symbolically, this represents trying to accomplish something more personal and important, as if he is following his dreams, something that is motivational to everyone. So besides just extra terrestrial activity, you can perceive "Close Encounters as the tale of an obsessive struggling to preserve sanity and marriage while rallying others to share his unifying vision." (McCahill, 2017) 

Figure. 2. Close Encounters of the Third Kind film still.
Barry Guiler (Cary Guffey) is a young boy in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, who is targeted by the aliens quite strongly. Despite the fear that should be impelled into Barry, he embraces the strange force happily with overwhelming excitement. His single mother Jillian Guiler (Melinda Dillon) isn't so excited about it, while she has to try and keep him in her constant sight and prevent him from approaching the strange sightings. It is like her young son Barry prefers the idea of this new life, maybe not because he is at that age where his life has become dull and repetitive, but because he is a young child. He's a dreamer, with no responsibilities who just wants to enjoy life, which is exactly what Roy wants to be. It seems as if both of these characters are interested in the same thing and feel inclined to pursue it, ultimately for the same reason. Not to say that Barry feels the same as Roy, but more so that Roy envies Barry and his lack of responsibilities in life as he is a child. With this in mind, it seems that the only possible way Roy can ever escape this is by being taken far far away from the world, potentially to a new one which can offer him more. 

Figure. 3. Close Encounters of the Third Kind film still.
Going further into the topic of the film's relative, reflective wishes for leaving Earth and entering the unknown, the film also represents Steven Spielberg's struggle and fight within the film industry. It is the repetitive vision Roy has of the Devils Tower landmark, that resembles Spielberg's ambitious pursuit and vision of becoming a successful film director and creating something "out of this world." (Hence why the film is about going beyond the World and reaching new limits) This film isn't about Spielberg, but it strongly relates metaphorically to his struggle he endured, while climbing the steep mountain to become as successful and as popular as he is today. You could also say that Spielberg relates to the characters of Roy and Barry in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, regarding his young imaginative mind that a child might have, and his dream to meet greatness instead of carrying on living a regular and dull life. "'Close Encounters' personifies the cost of being an artist and the childlike wonderment of the world. Spielberg is able to comprise multiple readings of his film that all bear truth. Whether it is dealing with the exhaustiveness of suburban family life or the lack of communication between human beings, the takeaways are multifaceted and multidimensional." (Teti, 2017) Spielberg masterfully crafted a film that can easily relate to anyone's life experiences and thoughts, as well as strongly communicating his own. The film has the incredible capabilities of concurring all audience's needs by showing them something they can see themselves in easily. It taps on the emotions with the nostalgia that comes with it, leaving you with a mixed array of emotions by the end of the film. 

Illustration List

Figure. 1. IMDb, Close Encounters of the Third Kind film poster. https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0075860/ (Accessed 03/03/18)
Figure. 3. FilmGrabber, Close Encounters of the Third Kind film still. https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/film-grab.com/2012/11/20/close-encounters-of-the-third-kind/amp/ (Accessed 03/03/18)

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