Contact 1997

Dr. Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster), a brilliant scientist, dedicates herself to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, where she is guided by her late father’s passion for science and communication. As she scans the cosmos for signs of life, her colleague Kent Clarke (William Fichtner), a blind individual with an extraordinary sense of hearing, joins forces with her to tune into actual radio signals, a dying art in today’s digital age. Together, they work alongside research assistant Fisher (Geoffrey Blake) to uncover the secrets of the universe.

In her personal life, Ellie navigates a romantic relationship with Palmer Joss (character A), a Christian philosopher and part-priest, who is writing a book on the impact of technology on impoverished communities in third-world countries. As they share intimate conversations about faith, Ellie’s rational nature prompts her to withdraw from the relationship when Palmer’s spirituality deepens.

Meanwhile, David Drumlin (Tom Skerritt), the president’s science advisor, terminates funding for SETI, dismissing its significance as a futile endeavor. However, Ellie secures backing from the enigmatic billionaire S. R. Hadden (John Hurt) of Hadden Industries, allowing her to continue the project at the Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico.

Four years later, around 1996, Drumlin’s attempts to shutter the SETI program force Ellie to confront a new reality. As she struggles to maintain control over the facility, she discovers a signal repeating a sequence of prime numbers, seemingly transmitted from the star system Vega, approximately 26 light-years away. This groundbreaking finding sparks a heated debate between Drumlin and the National Security Council, led by Michael Kitz (James Woods), who seek to seize control of the facility.

Ellie’s team stumbles upon a hidden video within the signal – Adolf Hitler’s opening address at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. They theorize that this would have been the first signal strong enough to penetrate Earth’s ionosphere, reach Vega, and be transmitted back, making it a historic milestone in the search for extraterrestrial life.

As international interest in the mysterious project reaches a fever pitch, Dr. Arroway discovers that the signal contains an astonishing 63,000 pages of cryptic data, sparking a sense of urgency and intrigue worldwide. Behind the scenes, reclusive billionaire S.R. Hadden makes contact with Arroway, furnishing her with the means to decipher the enigmatic pages. The revelations that follow are nothing short of extraordinary: a complex machine is designed to transport a solitary passenger, casting a spotlight on the project’s true purpose.

The US government, advised by Kit and Drumlin, initially expresses reservations about proceeding with the project, but Palmer’s spiritual influence on the White House administration ultimately shifts the momentum in favor of building the machine. The schematics are subsequently leaked to the media, generating widespread pressure to complete the project. With international backing, the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral becomes the hub for constructing the machine.

An esteemed panel is assembled to select a worthy candidate to embark on this unprecedented journey. While Dr. Arroway remains a strong contender, her hopes are unexpectedly dashed by Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey), a member of the selection committee and a former romantic interest in Puerto Rico. The revelation of her atheism prompts the panel to opt for Drumlin as the representative of humanity’s spiritual majority (95% of which believes in God).

The machine is first tested, only to be tragically destroyed by a suicide bomber targeting it with religious fervor, claiming Drumlin and several others. As Hadden battles terminal cancer on the Mir space station, where the low oxygen environment slows down the disease’s progression, he reveals to Arroway that his company had secretly built a second machine in Japan – and she will be its chosen traveler.

In the aftermath of these events, Palmer reunites with Ellie in Japan, confessing that he deliberately voted against her previously out of concern for their relationship. The two reconcile, paving the way for new beginnings.

As Arroway (character) ventured into the heart of the machine, she was equipped with a multitude of recording devices, ready to capture any evidence of the extraordinary journey that lay ahead. The pod in which she traveled was then lowered into a vortex of spinning gimbals, creating the illusion of traversing a series of wormholes. Arroway’s gaze fell upon a peculiar radio array structure at Vega, as well as signs of an advanced civilization on another planet, leaving her awestruck and wonder-filled.

As the pod continued its journey, Arroway found herself transported to a beach that eerily resembled a childhood drawing she had made of Pensacola, Florida. It was there that she encountered a figure that would soon reveal itself to be an alien masquerading as her deceased father. As they interacted, Arroway’s curiosity got the better of her, but her questions were met with enigmatic responses from the extraterrestrial visitor.

The alien explained that the familiar landscape and form had been employed as a means of facilitating humanity’s initial contact with other space-faring species, hinting at a larger cosmic narrative. As Arroway continued to ponder the implications of this encounter, she began to lose consciousness, embarking on a journey through the wormhole once more.

Upon awakening within the pod, Arroway was greeted by the repeated hails from the mission control team. It became apparent that, from an external perspective, the pod had simply plummeted through the machine’s rings and landed safely in a net. However, Arroway insisted that she had been absent for approximately 18 hours, her recording devices providing no concrete evidence to support this claim.

As the Congressional Committee convened to investigate these extraordinary claims, they speculated that the signal and machine had been a deliberate ruse concocted by the now deceased Hadden. Despite the lack of physical proof, Arroway remained resolute in her conviction, imploring the committee to accept the truth of her testimony on faith.

In a poignant irony, Arroway’s passion for her experience within the machine bordered on the spiritual, as she pleaded with the committee to acknowledge the validity of her account. Meanwhile, Kitz and White House official Rachel Constantine (Angela Bassett) engaged in a private online conversation, discussing confidential information that hinted at a far more profound reality than what was initially apparent.

As Arroway’s story began to unravel, she found solace in reuniting with Joss and securing ongoing financial support from the VLA. Despite the skepticism surrounding her claims, Arroway remained steadfast in her pursuit of the truth, driven by an unwavering conviction that the extraordinary events she had experienced were more than mere fantasy.