My History With the Film:
In early/mid 2018, two movies hit theaters that really seem to have everyone talking. One was Hereditary and the other was A Quiet Place. I knew I’d have to wait for the hype to quiet down before I could see either film and now a year later, I finally feel ready to check them out. I started with A Quiet Place, a film I purchased digitally a few months ago, but just never found the right time to watch it. I knew from the nature of the film that I was going to be best watched in silence, so I wanted to make sure that I had the proper environment set to enjoy the flick.
In March 2019, I finally had a free night to watch it with my girlfriend in a quiet apartment and I enjoyed the story and tension the film presented.
What The Film Is About (Non-Spoiler):
A family attempts to survive in a world where any sound will bring sudden death from unknown creatures.
What I Liked About It:
-The cast is amazing. All four actors did amazing jobs. They were completely a believable family, especially under the stressful conditions that they were leaving in.
-The score is beautifully done and helps propel the movie forward even with its lack of dialogue.
-The set design is great and I love the farm they live on and all the little details they add to show how they avoid making noise such as painting spots on the floor that don’t creak and making sand trails everywhere to soften the noise their footsteps make.
-The use of sign language was neat and made sense within the story being that they had a deaf daughter. It might have been a nice coincidence, but it never feels out of place or much of a reach.
-The opening scene grabs you by the throat and establishes the dangerous world that they live in. I love that. It’s a fantastic opening and a great way to start this story.
What I Didn’t Like About It:
-I’m not a huge monster movie fan and although I enjoyed the looked of these creatures, I think I would have felt slightly more terrified had they got with more practical effects. I just didn’t buy that the creatures were real in some of the situations.
Additional Notes:
-John Krasinski who portrays Lee, also directed the film and acted as the monsters in some of the motion capture scenes. John Krasinksi’s wife, Emily Blunt, portrays his wife Evelyn in the film.
-The opening sequences were the last thing shot, since John Krasinski had to shave his beard off.
-There are only 25 lines of dialogue. The original script had just one line of dialogue.
-Grossed $188 million domestic and $332 million worldwide on a $17 million dollar budget.
-John Krasinski’s first reaction to the film was to tell the producers that he did not do horror films. Once they presented the film as a story about a family who cannot make a sound and you have to figure out why, he joined the production.
-Doors are never opened and closed until the final scenes with the truck.
-The first line of dialogue isn’t spoken until 38 minutes into the film.
-Was rumored at one time to be part of the Cloverfield umbrella of films.
Rating:
A Quiet Place is a very interesting film and a solid one time watch for me. Making a near silent film that is riveting and has the tension that A Quiet Place has is admirable and I have to give majors kudos to the screenwriters, director, and actors for pulling this off. This easily could have been a goofy movie had it been helmed by a less capable director.
A Quiet Place is a high quality horror film that almost crosses over into art film territory, but I have a feeling its less effective on a second viewing. I’m not a huge monster movie fan, so I don’t see myself revisiting this film anytime soon. I am glad I didn’t see it in theaters, because it is a movie that is truly meant to be watched in silence and between people talking, people eating, and sound bleeding over from other theaters, I have a feeling this experience could easily be ruined. So, if you haven’t seen it yet, make sure you will be undisturbed for a couple of hours and sit down and be entertained.
A Quiet Place is a three out of five and a solid rental in my opinion.