A Quiet Place (2018)
Film Review
By the Geezer of Oz
“In a post-apocalyptic world, in order to survive, a family has to adjust to living in silence while hiding from alien monsters who hunt with an ultra-heightened sense of hearing.”
A Quiet Place is a nerve-wracking, suspenseful, sci-fi horror-thriller which has the feel of an M. Night Shyamalan film, who I am mostly a fan of. The production value is high, the acting largely on point and the direction by John Krasinski (Leatherheads, Away We Go, The Hollars, 13 Hours, TV’s The Office, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan), surprisingly masterful. So why is it that, almost all the way through the viewing experience, I failed to fully connect and surrender to the film?
After much reflection, I realized that this film and I simply did not ‘go all the way’ on our first date. Suspension of disbelief can be quite tenuous at times, and different from viewer to viewer. To those unfamiliar with the concept, Wikipedia describes suspension of disbelief, or willing suspension of disbelief as “a willingness to suspend one’s critical faculties and believe something surreal; sacrifice of realism and logic for the sake of enjoyment.” I guess my willingness to sacrifice only goes so far. Don’t get me wrong, I was aware that I was watching a sci-fi film with monsters beyond the realm of reality, however, those are not the ones I had trouble going along with. I had difficulty believing some of the other aspects within the world of the film, almost all involving human behaviour and decision-making.
All that being said, as mentioned before, Krasinski does a masterful job both in directing and starring in this film. Emily Blunt (The Adjustment Bureau, Looper, Edge of Tomorrow, Sicario, The Girl on the Train) is amazing as always and the scenes involving the two of them together were a joy to watch. Millicent Simmonds (Wonderstruck) and Noah Jupe (Suburbicon, Wonder) were also mostly believable as their kids.
The film does really well in involving the viewer in the tension that is going on throughout, so it is quite a thrill-ride. However, I do wish that more attention would have been given to the script and the human aspect and not just bend the story to fit with the makers’ will of making it a wildly entertaining piece. Unfortunately, as this is a no-spolier review, I cannot go into too much detail. I’ll just say that had all the pieces fit together perfectly, this could have been quite the horror-sci-fi masterpiece. As it is, it is a well-produced, substantially above average, entertaining film which is well worth your time.
A little frustrating, but an enjoyable tension-filled ride. 7/10.
