DIRECTOR: John Krasinski LEAD CAST: John Krasinski, Emily
Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe
WRITERS: John Krasinski, Scott Beck, Bryan Woods PRODUCERS: Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Brad
Fuller EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: John
Krasinski, Scott Beck, Bryan Woods SOUNDS: Erik
Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn MUSIC: Marco
Beltrami
EDITOR: Christopher Tellefsen GENRE: Drama
Suspense LOCATION: U.S. DISTRIBUTOR: Paramount Pictures RUNNING TIME: 90 minutes
Technical
assessment: 4
Moral assessment: 3.5
CINEMA rating: V14
MTRCB rating: R13
Deadly creatures with incredible hearing ability from nowhere wiped out
most of the human population, leaving the small number of survivors who are extra
careful to make any sound. Among them is the family of Lee Abbott (John
Krasinski) who together with wife Evelyn (Emily Blunt), sons Marcus (Noah Jupe)
and Beau (Cade Woodward), and deaf daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds) scavenge
for supplies in an abandoned grocery. When youngest son Beau
innocently picked out a battery-operated toy airplane, Lee cautioned him to
leave it so not to make a sound. But Regan felt for her younger brother so
she took out the battery to make sure it’s safe and then gave back the toy
to Beau. Unknown to her, Beau took and put back the battery and
turned on to play while outside. Expectedly, the monster alerted by the
sound attacked and killed Beau. Regan blamed herself for the
death of Beau and felt guilty since then. After 400 days of silent life in the
farmhouse, Lee and Marcus went for fishing, with Lee giving pointers to Marcus
about being safe with their sounds and movement in the presence of
louder sound like rushing water falls. Regan, who was not allowed to come along
with them, instead went to the grave of Beau leaving Evelyn, who is on her
final stage of pregnancy, alone in the house. At this time, Evelyn goes into
labor—how will things go with her in that condition?
A Quiet Place is a film that meets the expectations for a
sustained momentum of suspense from start to the end. The story focuses on a
family being in a prolonged life- threatening situation that
requires them to limit their conversation to sign language in order to secure
themselves from deadly attacks of sound-sensitive monsters. The plot includes
a hearing-impaired daughter, which explains why all members of the family
are comfortable with non-verbal communication. Thus, true to its
title, the film has limited sounds and dialogues yet effectively delivers
with strong composition. The director is commendable in his
treatment of combined suspense drama by the details and symbolisms such as
the many close-up shots of step guides and the features of sound-proofed
shelter, the hearing gadget, newspapers, and the day counter among others.
The scene of father and son in the waterfalls serves as a breather from a
heightened suspense. The acting is impressive especially Krasinski
as a father who is doing everything for the family and Simmonds as a reel and
real hearing-impaired teenage girl. The sign language communication of the
whole family cast is amazing and interestingly engages the
viewers. But some prolonged silent scenes can still be boring,
hence this film need not be longer than the 90-minute run. Nevertheless, as
commented by film assessors, the only thing that a viewer would not do in
watching the film is laugh. The film projects a whole gamut of emotions: fear,
sorrow, remorse, regret, love, sacrifice.
There is no hopeless situation for a family when all members act together
to survive and protect one another from enemies. The film highlights that
sacrifice is a language of love. It gives preferential concern for a
family member who has special needs. The family sacrifices their verbal
expression to be able to communicate with the deaf daughter through sign
language. She in return desires to make her own expression of love and
support despite her condition. While everyone has a share, notable
in the film A Quiet Place is the sacrificing love of the
father. He exerted efforts to prepare the family for the
inevitable. The character of Lee Abbott depicts a father who is a
compassionate and responsible leader, has presence of mind, and always thinks
first of the welfare and future of his family. (IBD)
