Wow! Lots of interesting debate on here. Loving the poll.
I think I hate this film.
If, as 60% of you see to think, Louise merely sees the choices she will inevitably make, then what is the point of the whole Heptapod plot? In fact the Heptapods are scumbags for giving us a method with which to reveal our futures. To see our respective futures and be unable to change squat about any of it would not a glorious, heart-warming thing of soft tones and stirring music. It would be a nightmare.
What if, for example:
"Ah well, 5:30, time for me to clock out"
"See you tomorrow"
"Nah, 'fraid not. Getting mugged and stabbed at 6:15. They rush me to hospital but there's way too much internal damage. Dead by midnight."
"Aw... jeez.... "
"Yep. Still, nothing can be done, right?"
"F*cking heptapods."
eh? What if that?
The script heavily suggests that Louise has agency in the choices she makes.
Because if she doesnt, then doesnt that undermined any sense of tension in the film? If she only ends up making choices she would have made anyway, then the big war was always going to be avoided. All the Heptapods have done is come down from their big aquarium and f*cked with us all.
Maybe that's the point... Heptapods are a-holes. If they ever come, we should just ignore them until they fly off to cause a big mess somewhere else.