The Silent Screams of A Quiet Place

It doesn’t take much clairvoyance to predict that A Quiet Place is going to easily end up on my year-end best-list.

I’ve got a major soft-spot for economical genre thrillers that do a lot with a little, putting the oomph into a strong script over big budget – and does A Quiet Place deliver on all those fronts, and then some.

 

The small town streets are deserted, debris and the wake of pandemonium strewn everywhere. No people – just silence. A plague? A plague of monsters. No far-flung sci-fi premise, but just a few months up the road from where we are now, horrific creatures have descended on Earth, shredding the populace down to the most fleeting bands of survivors. A Quiet Place focuses on a single rural family, hiding out on a remote farm, just trying to exist together. Ever knock something over accidently? In this world, that’ll likely get you killed – because these alien beasts hunt by sound. The parents (Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, who also directs) must be constantly vigilant that their children maintain absolute silence, as any sneeze or sudden noise is enough to draw one of these things on you in seconds. They’ve taken great pains to put systems in place to maintain quiet and signal warnings. Bare feet pad quietly on sand-covered paths, every threat carefully planned for. Until it’s not.

 

A Quiet Place is practically dialogue-free, largely told via sign language and scant subtitles. The effect is beyond unnerving. John Krasinski is simply a revelation as a director here, working with a script from writers Bryan Woods and Scott Beck, it’s a master class in storytelling economics and structural effectiveness – all of which is only surpassed by the empathy of character. Blunt and Krasinski are also real-life husband and wife, and along with Noah Jupe and Millicent Simmonds create an all-too rare depiction of a close-knit family who genuinely care for each other and are trying to hold on, despite the crushing anxiety and dread around every corner. Simmonds is a tremendous find – the actress herself is deaf, as is her character, and having a character who’s lost in their own unique silence beyond what’s mandated by survival makes for fascinating family dynamics and superb acting. That’s all I’ll say as far as plot, but know there is a lot going on here in this simple and compelling premise.

 

Krasinski has made a sinew-taught thriller that stands tall among the likes of Get Out, Don’t Breathe and The Gift, that shares DNA with films as diverse as Pitch Black and The Mist, but that’s refreshing, unpredictable and unique. Danish cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen (The Girl on the Train) immerses her camera in every tight corner the characters experience, making the farm environment feel real and convincing. She and Krasinski do phenomenal work focusing on character faces, making sure their eyes and expressions deftly fill the void left by any absence of dialogue. Editor Christopher Tellefsen is the man responsible for the increase in heart medication prescriptions as a result of this relentless 90-minutes. Emily Blunt blew the doors off in Edge of Tomorrow, but this might be my favorite performance of hers. She never overcompensates to make up for absent speech, and goes through a gauntlet of emotions that’s astonishing to behold. Clearly this “family project” inspired everyone to be free to do their best work.

 

It’s interesting to consider how much awareness and empathy A Quiet Place will likely inspire among the hearing for the deaf community. The audience gets to palpably experience what it might feel like to have a different range of expression from others, likely often taken for granted. Krasinski is the real deal, and those in search of smart, unnerving thrills, miss this at their peril. Very highly recommended.