A Quiet Place (2018)

A Quiet Place

"One of my favorite films of the last decade"

     

        If you told me that Jim from 'The Office' was going to be a fantastic filmmaker I would probably not believe you. He's a good actor, but I never realized how he could potentially be one of the great Writer/Director's of our time. I was blown away with his first body of work, 'A Quiet Place,' a horror/drama/sci-fi/thriller in which John Krasinski co-wrote, directed, and starred in.

     

        The story takes place over three months in 2020, and most of Earth’s human population has been decimated by sightless creatures with hypersensitive hearing. We follow the Abbott family — husband Lee (Krasinski), wife Evelyn (Emily Blunt), sons Marcus (Noah Jupe) and Beau, and deaf daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds) — as they continue their efforts for survival by engineering a more sound proof environment and communicating non-verbally through American Sign Language. You see them walking barefoot and scavenging things that don’t make too much sound. The use of the camera was so carefully crafted, making sure every shot was intended to push the narrative forward. Even though majority of the film does not have oral dialogue, we get a lot of clues in the frame and good acting to help tell most of the story. With sound playing a huge part in the suspense of this film, it created a lot of anxiety. This movie had me on the edge of my seat all the way to the end. To my surprise ‘A Quite Place’ might be one of my favorite films of the last decade.

        Written by John Krasinski, Scott Beck, and Bryan Woods, ‘A Quiet Place’ is a special type of film that was forced to take risks. The actors had to use sign language and the audience had to read subtitles for all but maybe 15 minutes of the whole film. I don’t mind subtitles, but I know a lot of people who do. A whole hour went by before we had any speaking lines in this film which was really a bold decision, but I thought it was absolutely necessary. Hearing Lee speak those first words that late in the film was a relief, but it felt almost unfamiliar because of how much time had passed with them being mute. It really helped me empathize our characters year struggle for survival.

"It's refreshing to see someone with a hearing disability in the forefront and rather than making it a handicap it became a strength..."

           It’s fascinating that this film uses American Sign Language for majority of the dialogue. You can imagine a lot of people died during the initial invasion because they couldn’t communicate, but the Abbott Family survived because their daughter Regan had her hearing disability. It's refreshing to see someone with a hearing disability in the forefront and instead of making it a handicap it became a strength for the family. 

       Lee Abbott, played by Krasinski, was such a fantastic character because he played the anchor of this family. He usually plays such a likable character but after watching this, the man’s practically a Saint. He is the most dependable character you could ever ask for in this situation. He was the ultimate selfless-provider, constantly learning and creating a better world for his family. When you see him in his “workspace,” you see he constructed a whole monitoring/defense system, developed research on the enemy, making constant attempts to make contact with other survivors, and even going to lengths to develop a hearing aid for his daughter. It was a beautiful family dynamic and it was almost idealistic how strong they were, but like all families, there will always be a struggle.

       Not everything about this family was perfect though. The family dealt with a loss and it weighed on them throughout the whole film. This completed the family dynamic and gave our character relations so much more depth. Each person blamed themselves for the incident and it feels like there was an elephant in the room that was not addressed for most the film. It was a great sub conflict for the story. Watching a family argue or have emotional stirs when nobody can raise their voice or express themselves verbally really put our actors on display. They had to show their frustrations with the use of body language and facial expressions, and this small tight cast nailed it! Despite Lee being an anchor, he struggled with his loss and it had an affect on his relationship with his children but Evelyn (Emily Blunt) helps with that. She is there to listen and to address the things within the family that Lee doesn’t necessarily have time for. She is the glue, he is the rock, and the children are the future….they are the reason this family goes on.

"It is a terrifying world when we can't yell for help or warn/find people."

        Everything about this production seemed so intentional, which is something you don’t get in most horror films. Krasinski displays a sense of composition and economic storytelling that you don’t come across too often. Since sound is a threat to the characters, he limits it throughout the movie, so when a significant noise is made, you jump up in your seat and prepare yourself for immense danger. Sudden movements cause more noise, so the characters are in big trouble if you screw up. The film heavily relies on the score to create jump scares, but because sound is limited in this world, the scare tactic is magnified. The cinematographer (Charlotte Bruus Christensen) really captured Krasinski’s vision as a Director. We get such beautiful shots of the farm and a sense of it’s geography, which they layout in a way that feels familiar to us. Her chemistry with her Director was a very special one. They made a no-nonsense type of thriller, capturing every little detail on camera. Even during times when Regan is unaware of the monster around her, the camera uses focusing techniques to show that on screen. It was truly a fantastic art piece all around. 

        Let me be clear though. This film is nerve wrecking. It is a terrifying world when we can’t yell for help or warn/find people. Especially in the case of the deaf daughter, Regan, she can’t even hear what is coming. The minute a noise is made, you’re pretty much doomed. So when tension really starts to build due to a small noise, the threat get’s incrementally more worse and the problems begin to stack. I was white knuckle gripping my armrest the whole second half of the film and there is no better high you get after a movie than a good horror/thriller. I give ‘A Quiet Place’ 5 out of 5 stars. 

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