A Quiet Place (2018)

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. Production value is high, the acting on point and the direction by John Krasinski (Leatherheads, Away We Go, 13 Hours, TV’s The Office, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan) is 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, which is not a bad thing. 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 in both 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 scenes involving the two sharing the screen 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 and desire to make 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 and flawed, yet an enjoyable tension-filled ride throughout.

7/10.