[yasr_overall_rating]
A family is forced to live in silence while hiding from creatures that hunt by sound.
It’s not very often I give a film such glowing praise but “A Quiet Place,” its small ensemble cast, and director John Krasinski, have done the impossible, they have produced a sci-fi thriller that intrigues, scares, and ultimately, entertains, all on a budget of $17 million. When you think of movies that set out to attain the same goal, but with much bigger budgets, think “Alien: Covenant” and its budget of $100 million or “Independence Day: Resurgence” with $165 million, both of which did not perform well at the box office, then this should be a wake-up call to the studios, bigger is not always better.
Real-life husband and wife John Krasinski and Emily Blunt play husband and wife (Lee and Evelyn Abbott) onscreen in “A Quiet Place.” The story transpires in a dystopian 2020, where most of mankind has been eradicated by an alien species that hunts its prey based on sound. Like the xenomorph in the “Alien” films, they cannot see but have extra-sensory hearing capabilities so if you were to drop a pen in the basement of your house, they could hear it miles away. Lee and Evelyn and their two kids, Regan (Millicent Simmonds) and Marcus (Noah Jupe), live in upstate New York out in the country. With Regan having been born deaf, the family communicates with each other utilizing sign language, which comes in very handy as talking to each other is out of the question, for fear that the monsters will hear them.
They have learned to live a very quiet but cautious existence, occasionally making their way into town to pick up medical supplies and have poured sand in and around their home and land so their movements are inaudible. Evelyn is pregnant and with only a short time to go before the baby is due, they have soundproofed the basement and a baby crib. Lee makes it a point of taking Marcus with him to go fishing so that he will know how to take care of himself should something happen and on this particular day, Regan wants to go with them but Lee insists that she stay to look after her mother. She storms off in a huff and Evelyn tells the boys to go, that they will be okay but later in the afternoon, Evelyn’s water breaks and bent over in pain, she accidentally drops a lantern. She immediately pauses, waiting to see if the creatures heard the crash and for a few moments, she hears nothing but she then hears them making their way towards the house. She goes down into the basement and as she experiences waves of contractions, the pain becomes almost unbearable.
The family have lights that come on at night which surround the house and barn but should an emergency occur, a switch can be thrown which turns all the lights red, alerting the rest of the family that danger is nearby. Evelyn manages to switch the lights and as Lee and Marcus return from their fishing trip and Regan makes her way back to the house, they notice the change in lights. Lee and Regan have a plan in place thanks to their father and Lee slowly approaches the house, shotgun in hand. Just as the creature is about to attack Evelyn, Marcus sets off a constant stream of fireworks out in the corn fields, which attracts the creature’s attention and it storms out of the house. With the creature temporarily distracted, Lee and Evelyn make their way to the barn but when Marcus and Regan don’t show up as planned, Lee must venture outside once more to try to locate his kids before the creatures do.
“A Quiet Place” succeeds on every cinematic level, from the acting and the directing to the cinematography and the score, every single aspect of the movie flourishes, a rare feat in filmmaking these days. John Krasinski, who both directs and stars in the movie, can now join that elite group of filmmakers who are considered double threats to Hollywood, names like Clint Eastwood, George Clooney, Greta Gerwig, and Ben Affleck, individuals who can not only act but direct too. Emily Blunt is an actor I have long admired and here, she says very little but her facial expressions and body language speak volumes. She is one of the best actors of her generation and with a simple glance, or smile, you know exactly what she is conveying without having to speak a word. Mr. Krasinski holds his own onscreen but wisely appoints his wife as the emotional core of the story. Both Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe turn in praiseworthy performances and never once come off as irritating or cumbersome, they are more like young adults who have to adapt to their current circumstance and as a result, allows very them very little time to actually be children.
As the director, Mr. Krasinski successfully infuses the film with so much tension and foreboding, Hitchcock would be proud. Without giving away one of the best scenes in the movie, keep your eye out on that nail, it had everyone at the press screening I attended, on the edge of their seat, including yours truly, and that hasn’t happened to me in a long time. It is one of the quietest films you are ever likely to see, with just a few lines of dialogue spoken near the end and because of its placidness, you may find yourself refraining from eating that popcorn, or opening that bag of candy unless you want to reap the ire of those around you. I cannot praise this movie enough, it never patronizes its audience, it lays everything out in glorious widescreen for all to see, giving the overall feel of a film from the ’70s or ’80s, and by the time the final credits begin to roll, you find yourself feeling very content with the ending, something that is very rare in this day and age of end-credit and post-credit scenes. If sci-fi and thrillers are your thing, do not miss out on seeing “A Quiet Place.”
Available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray & DVD July 10th
