A Quiet Place
/"Your father will protect you. Your father will always protect you."
Filmology Rating: 3.33 out of 4
Complete silence can be one of the most therapeutic and tranquil experiences that we as humans can experience; however it can also be one of the most heart wrenching experiences where every small sound could send your pulse racing. John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place is the perfect example to show how silence can be a weapon of tension that will make you fear something that most of us hear everyday - silence.
The world has been forced to plunge into complete silence. For those who chose to make a sound above a whisper they are quickly executed by monsters from another world. Few people are left in the world, they live in complete fear, knowing that if they make any slight sound that they will be quickly found and killed.
After seeing John Krasinski’s previous directorial effort The Hollars I was ready to call for his directors card since the film was tonally inconsistent and featured every independent movie trope that it was completely sickening; but now after seeing A Quiet Place I feel that Krasinski was simply the wrong director for a quirky drama. Krasinski at many points during the film channels Hitchcock by doing the simplest techniques such as showing the audience the horror that is upcoming that the characters do not see which causes us to feel even more tension and sends us to a panic since we want the characters to be safe in the film. While that simple technique has been used in hundreds of films it’s hard to remember a recent film that left me fidgeting in my seat, wanting to call out to the characters on the screen that something terrible is coming their way soon.
The simplistic premise can only work if actors deliver authentic performances and A Quiet Place delivers those outstanding performances from every member of its cast. While most know John Krasinski for his comedic work, he brings a truly moving performance as a grieving father who feels helpless in a world that has fallen into complete despair. Krasinski has been trying to breakout from his comedic typecasting for the past few years with roles in films like Detroit and 13 Hours but his performances in those films didn’t feel as natural as his performance in A Quiet Place. Some of the reason why Krasinski's performance might seem so naturalistic is because he is acting against his wife, Emily Blunt. Blunt continues to prove with her performance in the film, that she is one of the most versatile actresses working today; she goes from terrified mother who is living in fear one moment and the next she goes to a strong powerful woman who will do anything to protect her family. The children in the film prove that talented child actors still exist, contrary to what A Wrinkle in Time showed us. Millicent Simmonds, who made a spectacular debut with last year’s Wonderstruck, continues to prove that she has the talent to be one of the best up and coming actresses working today. Simmonds wears her guilt on her sleeve yet she desperately tries to let it not define her, she always wants to prove that she is capable to handle every situation thrown at her. Noah Jupe brings the performance of his career thus far with his performance as the sickly petrified son. Just last year Jupe was in Suburbicon where his acting was completely over the top that it seemed like he had never acted before, but it would seem that he was working with the wrong director. Krasinski brings out an authentic performance from the young actor that he can be proud of.
Since A Quiet Place relies heavily on being enveloped in sound or the lack thereof it’s incredibly important to see the film with one of the best sound systems that you can. Watching the film on a small screen with a simple stereo sound system will do the film an utter disservice to the film. I would argue that if that is how you to choose to watch the film you should just skip it entirely. Watching the film in the theatre with a great sound system helps elevate the fear since you are hearing the neighboring doom coming from every corner of the room. I cannot stress enough the importance of seeing A Quiet Place with the best sound system that you can; if your local AMC hasn’t upgraded the sound system within the past five years try to find another theatre that values your filmgoing experience.
A Quiet Place is easily the best horror film of the year so far and it deserves to be seen by anyone who loves the genre. I encourage horror fans to not be discouraged by the PG-13 rating since this film drips tension more than most R rated films. Let us all just hope that A Quiet Place is successful, but that it won’t bring in a new wave of horror that will be completely silent and rely completely on cheap jump scares with poorly developed characters.
Rating: See It
-Jonny G