By Contributing Writer, Manh T.
A QUIET PLACE is directed by John Krasinski, and stars married couple John Krasinski and Emily Blunt as the main leads. The film follows Lee (Krasinski), Evelyn (Blunt) and their three children as they try to navigate themselves in an eerie post-apocalyptic world dominated by terrifying creatures that are hyper-receptive to sound.
This film took me by complete surprise as I didn’t expect it to be as great as it turned out to be. Clocking in at a 1 hour and 35 minutes, the movie is fairly short, however Krasinski utilises every single second to create an incredibly tense and nail-biting cinematic experience from the jump.
A QUIET PLACE certainly lives up to it’s title, as 95% of the film features practically no spoken-dialogue. Instead they opt for the use of ASL (American Sign Language) due to them having to limit the amount of sound they make. It’s also used so that Lee and Evelyn can communicate with their daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds), who is deaf.
Krasinski and Blunt’s acting is spectacular as they’re able to fully express their emotions without speaking a single word (for the majority of the movie). Young actress Simmonds however, stole the show for me as she managed to capture the struggles of being hard of hearing, and often blaming herself for certain events that transpire within the film. There’s a scene within the movie that really hit me as Regan lets her disability get the better of her, and you really sense her feeling of helplessness and defeat.
The other aspect of the film that I absolutely adored was the use of sound. Because the film didn’t feature much spoken-dialogue, the use of sound was especially important and the film excels in that particular aspect. The score was masterfully interwoven into the film, which Krasinski uses to tell us how we should feel about each specific scene. The sound editing during the tense scenes is brilliantly executed as I found myself holding my breath during many of the scenes!
The creature is the only slight let down for me as it isn’t anything truly unique that we haven’t seen before. It’s a very uninspired creature design, however that doesn’t stop it from being truly terrifying whenever it’s on-screen. If I had to describe it I’d say it was a mesh of the 10 Cloverfield Lane alien and a Demogorgon.
A QUIET PLACE is a thrilling and suspenseful monster movie that practically begs to be seen on the biggest screen, and heard via the loudest cinema surround system! I recommend this to all, as Krasinski proves he’s not just an acting powerhouse, but also a directing one.
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