On the surface, the film explores the age-old conflict between faith and science and spends the majority of its time arguing for the former, so it’s understandable that viewers felt let down by the mysterious ending. If the movie wanted to satisfy its audience, it would have provided evidence that Arrowway encountered aliens or hallucinated him, but the ending was not chosen to satisfy viewers. Instead, the ending was to complete Arroway’s character’s journey from a hardened skeptic to a scientist with faith and hope. Druyan explained:
“We wanted [Arroway] to be someone who would never believe a person who claims to have an extraordinary experience without evidence and then become that person.”
If viewers focus on the film’s science versus faith argument, the ending will leave them unsatisfied. That’s why it was so important for the writers to understand Arroway and make his journey accessible to the public. If viewers connect with the scientist and understand the hope and faith she lost as a child, then watching her find him is a satisfying ending. However, if they don’t understand her story or how her father’s death deeply affected her, the ending will feel like an escape.
Ultimately, “Contact” isn’t about proving the existence of aliens or proving the superiority of science, it’s about Ellie Arroway’s struggle to regain faith, hope, and connection.
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