A Quiet Place
Starring: John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe
Directed by: John Krasinski
Rated: PG-13
Imagine you lived in a world where you could never make a sound or your shot at survival was annihilated. In A Quiet Place, the world has been taken over by aliens who hunt humans by sound. The film follows one family who attempts to survive silently outside of the alien's grasp.
A Quiet Place explores a fascinating concept. What if we had to live silently? John Krasinski (Jim from the Office) directs, writes, and stars in the film. As director he examines some intriguing film techniques through diegetic sound. The majority of the film is so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. Some scenes are even set up through the point of view of a deaf character so there is complete and total silence. It’s only at the most dramatic moments that we hear major sounds. After I saw A Quiet Place, I became incredibly aware of how every small thing I did made a lot of noise. I felt like I was about to be hunted down because just getting a snack made too much noise.
Emily Blunt gives a great performance as the mother of a family in a world that is almost uninhabitable. She conveys all emotions through facial expressions and sign language. One of the most memorable moments of the film is a 3 shot sequence that involves her character giving birth in a bathtub while she attempts to stay silent.
John Krasinski is impressive as the father of the family. Over all, he wants to protect and provide for them in dire circumstances. When all hope seems lost, he doesn't give up. The film seems to be a love letter from a father to his children indicating he will do whatever it takes to keep them safe in life. Seeing as Krasinski wrote and directed the film (and stars in it with his wife, Emily Blunt) it's nice to see the overall message is a positive one about protecting your family.
While I truly admire the general premise and talent involved in A Quiet Place, it is far from a perfect film. First of all, we are never given much backstory about the aliens except for a whiteboard that gives a few details about the creatures. It's poor screenwriting to have the entire backstory of your film explained through a couple of newspaper clippings and a whiteboard. Give your audience some kind of opening scene or voice over that tells how the world was overtaken by these aliens. Second of all, the rules of this film completely change in the second act. We're first told (via whiteboard technology) that the aliens are blind and attack through sound. Yet, in the second half of this movie, the aliens begin climbing up and down stairs and searching a house like they're late night scavengers. I thought they were blind? How are they suddenly climbing stairs and navigating a farmhouse without problems?
A Quiet Place feels very reminiscent of M. Night Shyamalan's Signs. Both involve an alien invasion, grief, and an overarching metaphor. While Signs ties all of these themes together neatly, A Quiet Place is a bit more messy. I can't deny that there are things to admire about this film. The cast puts on an impressive performance and the premise is very intriguing. However, I left the theater questioning it more than I did singing its praises.
My Rating: 6/10