It is quite a feat if after over 100 years of cinema a film comes along that offers a new and refreshing twist to a genre. A Quiet Place is such a film. The film’s director, John Krasinski, is best known for his role in the American version of The Office [2005-2013]. Krasinski also stars as the father (Lee Abbott) of the family at the centre of this film. Emily Blunt is the family’s mother (Evelyn Abbott) and spouse to Krasinski (they are also a real life couple). Blunt is now somewhat of a Hollywood veteran with work on The Adjustment Bureau [2011], Edge of Tomorrow [2014] and a gem I recommend a visit to, Looper [2012]. Touch of background here, Krasinski had already cast a friend of Blunt’s as the mother of the family but when Blunt read the script she insisted she be given the part (you can imagine the conversation over orange juice and toast that morning!).
I’ll not give away too much by saying this film was meant to have been part of the Cloverfield [2008] universe and it does share a fair bit of DNA with both the original film and 10 Cloverfield Lane [2016]. Fortunately it bears no relation to the third and, if at all possible, final instalment The Cloverfield Paradox [2018]. The Cloverfield Paradox should be studied as part of film school 101 in term one. This part of the course would be called “how to take a great concept and destroy it”. It does everything wrong apart from good CGI effects, but principally the writer never makes their mind up about what film they were making. It’s a real chimera, part environmental warning, part Alien [1979] and part Solaris [2002]. You end up never sure whether to laugh, scream or find a freshly painted wall to watch for 90 minutes instead.
A Quiet Place is a nerve shredding take on the alien invasion story. We never get a view into the psyche or motivation of the invaders. The one thing we do know is that they are fast and highly efficient at snatching the life right out of a person. There is a tangible sense of the terror that the whole world is experiencing as shown, in microcosm, by this family and how they now have to live. There are glimpses of the way the invasion unfolded scattered about the film right from the start. And also why the Abbott’s have to live the way they do to survive. The panic and hysteria have all but gone so what remains is the grim reality of how not to get killed. What I would say is that there is very little dialogue and what little there is is whispered for most of the film (to say more here would give too much plot). So don’t take a loud eater and hope you sit far from one. The family headed by Krasinski and Blunt have two children, a boy and girl and between the four they go about the daily tasks of trying to survive in a deserted small town. Bit of a bug bear for me with this and if you do see or have seen this film you’ll get where I’m coming from. Electricity?…they got loads of the stuff, which is fab, you can do great things with a few kilowatts of juice. But here’s my point, aliens invade, kill a lot of people, cause mayhem all over the world and yet someone keeps the lights on. Moral of this, get a job in a power plant come the apocalypse, you’re all good to survive coz a) aliens don’t touch power stations (so your safe at work) and b) they must view power workers as a kind of ‘Switzerland on legs’. Can’t touch power workers, they’re neutral!
The twist to this tale is in the way the invaders seek out their human prey. It’s clever (title of the film is a big hint) and it serves to make you think about that aspect of modern life. Music in this film is very important, it does what good movie music has and will always do. It’s a flag or signpost to tell the audience what to feel or expect from the images on screen. Here, for me, the music was another cast member mostly background, but when needed was right there telling you a fraction before the image that it’s all about to go south or ‘here is a happy moment’. Suspenseful and subtle, the music direction is extremely well done.
The acting is excellent, Krasinski and Blunt do a really good job of making a believable couple try to keep mind, body and family together and alive. The stand out is the new comer Millicent Simmonds as the daughter (Regan Abbott) in the family in only her second major film role. She is a typical teenager trying to assert her identity whilst trying to figure out what that identity is. She brings a robust sensitivity to her character that manifests in her exchange with her father. Someone here on the writing team clearly had or has teenage children, her reactions although stock are spot on so all the more believable. The Abbott family is rounded out by Noah Jupe (Marcus Abbott). Noah is one to watch, he is starring in The Titan [2018] recently released on Netflix and later this year has a major role in a Will Ferrell film Holmes & Watson. His character is the youngest and the one having the hardest time adapting to the strange new world. His sister Regan is more confident and assured in her abilities to deal with the grind of daily survival. Yet it is Marcus that Lee puts in the position of trusted second much to the annoyance of Regan. It causes a rift between father and daughter that ultimately leads to a tragic outcome for the family.
I do want to say a word about the aliens. You don’t get a really good look at them until about half way through, at which point you see first their strength and ultimately their weakness. The CGI effects on the aliens is good and you can totally believe they are solid, visceral and extremely dangerous. I would liken them to sharks on land, devoid of pity or soul and with only one purpose, to kill.
I would highly recommend a visit to a local cinema to see this film, it’s well crafted and very entertaining. A sequel has already been slated for production which will no doubt delve further into this universe. I for one can’t wait to see where the next instalment takes us.
Bens Nerd Words 