If you have read my previous posts, you already know that I am a self proclaimed scaredy cat. I am seriously the biggest wimp in the world when it comes to watching scary movies. A horror movie must be very special in order for me to be motivated to fight through my irrational fears.
A Quiet Place is special.
Hmmm where would "brilliant" fit in?
One of my favorite movies of last year, Baby Driver, used sound as a character. From the first time I saw the trailer for A Quiet Place, I imagined it would be silence playing a key and interesting role in this movie.
But to be honest, it really didn't. I specifically decided to see this film the week because I wanted to experience the movie in a quality theater as its creators had intended. I was afraid it would leave theaters and I would miss my chance. I was looking forward to the unique experience of sitting in a large theater in total silence. However, that did not happen. There were sounds. There was even mood music (which truly shocked me). It is true the family mainly communicates via sign language, but I never experienced the sensation of total science that I was eagerly anticipating.
And yet, I was not disappointed at all.
It does not matter that this movie suckered me in with the promise of a peculiar gimmick that was never delivered. This movie had something far more novel... an original and excellent story.
When I was a kid, I vaguely remember watching The Swiss Family Robinson on T.V. I think I kind of liked it, but I can't be sure. I simply don't remember it very well.
Cool story bro. Could have used some monsters though.
Do you know what would have made me remember it forever?
If the Swiss Family Robinson were being chased around that island by monsters that would tear you apart if you made a sound!
Now that would be a great movie!
To my delight, that is nearly exactly what A Quiet Place is. Although it is presented as a sci-fi/horror movie, at its heart, this is a story about a family trying to survive thrive against extraordinary odds.
That striking of "survive" was intentional. The fact that this family is doing their best to thrive is what makes the story so compelling. It also makes the father in this movie my hero. Don’t get me wrong, the mom is a total bad-ass and they have raised two very strong children… but the dad was special. While Wonder was an ode to the super human strength of mothers, A Quiet Place is a dark fairy tale about fatherly love, strength and desire to raise survivors.
Your father will protect you... always.
Let's get into the movie itself.
A Quiet Place was masterfully written by Bryan Woods, Scott Beck, and John Krasinski. Krasinski also directed the movie and portrayed the heroic father. Who knew that after all of those years stuck at Dunder Mifflin Jim would be so talented and tough? Because the story is so simple (A family tries to thrive despite the fact that they are surrounded by monsters who hunt via sound) the creators were incredibly wise to keep the run-time under 90 minutes. One of my biggest complaints about The Shape of Water is that it was way too long. When you want to disguise an emotional movie as sci-fi... make it quick. Otherwise, there are too many opportunities for it to fall apart. This movie never missed a beat. I spent the entire 90 minutes highly engaged. I was either on the edge of my seat or the edge of tears for nearly every one of those 5400 seconds.
In addition to a simple story, the film only requires 6 actors. Krasinski is perfect. His actual wife, Emily Blunt, does a sensational job portraying the incredibly strong, brave and caring mother (wait perhaps she is the hero... she's a close second). Noah Jupe, who happened to play Jack Will in Wonder, was believable as the son who is a scared child learning to be confident and strong. Millicent Simmonds plays the angst ridden older sister. Both children do well in their action sequences.
Families stick together.
Although the monsters are not on screen very often, they look realistic and terrifying.
Some may have a problem with how little the monsters are actually on the screen. Being the scaredy cat that I am, I was completely fine with it. Although I did jump a few times, that was not the real point of the movie. For the most part, the violence is more implied than directly shown. The monsters are there to drive the story of these characters whom we love.
I would imagine some sci-fi/horror fans may be a bit disappointed with the limited scares and action. Although there are plenty of both in the third act, it takes quite a while to get up to speed. After a very intense opening sequence, the audience needs to wait nearly 35 minutes for the action to pick up.
Even though it was slow, the middle 35 minutes of this movie was not boring. The writers needed to establish this family as one we would hope we could be if thrust into a dire situation. While they are fleshing out the characters, you also get a glimpse of some of the tactics the father was implementing in order to assure his family's safety. I was so interested in those that it never felt like the movie was dragging.
In the interest of avoiding any spoilers, I won't talk about the climax of this movie aside from expressing that it was believable and perfect.
I am in awe of how well this movie blended a story about a family's love and determination with one about terrifying monsters. I fully expect that A Quiet Place will be included on my list of best movies of 2018.
The only complaint I have about this movie at all is that I loved it so much that I wish it were part of the Cloverfield universe. The story would fit so perfectly that I am hoping I am wrong and I missed a Susho! reference or a Kelvin gas station. As soon as this movie is released on DVD, I am going to buy it and study every frame in search of any Cloverfield related Easter eggs.
Then I will watch it with my son.
Geeky Guy's Movie Guide
Number of times I fell asleep: 0 (Short run time + wonderful characters + action in the 3rd act = awesome!)
Number of eye rolls: 0 (I am shocked out how well thought out this was. No holes that I could find.)
Number of face palms: 0
Number of times I checked steemit: 0 (And I was literally the only person in the theater so I could have)
Can my kids see it: 13 year old son and I will watch it this summer. My 11 year old daughter is too young.
Number of times I will watch it: As many as it takes to connect it to Cloverfield.
Full price/Matinee/Rental/Free/Not worth the time: Even without the total silence it was still worth full price.