By Nadia Ranaputri
Director: John Krasinski
Cast: John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds.
My Film Studies lecturer once said that the opening of a film is vital. It's the first thing you see of the film. Its job is to invest us in the setting and the characters that we are about to follow. The opening of a film is what hooks us in and gives us questions that would be answered in a later time. A Quite Place is an excellent example of how to begin a film.
A Quite Place takes place in the near future, where nearly the entire population is wiped out by creatures that hunt by sound rather than sight. We're introduced to the Abbott family, one of, if not the only family alive. They live by one rule: never make a sound, hence why they communicate with sign language for the majority of the film.
A Quite Place is a film that relies heavily on performances. John Krasinski, also the director of the film; manages to create excellent performances out of not only his other actors, but himself as well. A Quiet Place is a film where emotions tell the story, not the words, and these actors, Krasinski, Blunt, Jupe, and Simmonds; all deliver strong performances that draws us into attention, even when it's not through what they say, but the wordless messages that are conveyed through their emotions. When not terrorized, the family peacefully live under their one rule. The father and son hunt for fish, the daughter accompanies her pregnant mother at home. Like The Babadook, it's a sure sign of normalcy that manipulates the audience into the scenery of a peaceful scenario. Had it not been for the monsters, one would have thought it to be a normal family living on a farm.
The post-apocalyptic setting of A Quiet Place is introduced similarly to how the Nostromo and its crew are introduced in the beginning of Alien. The only sound we hear are the humming of the engines, and the opening of the cryo pods, revealing rather than explaining. With A Quite Place, the opening of the film takes place in an abandoned local store, where the first thing we see of the family are their bare feet. This prompts the question, why are they barefoot? One even walks on tiptoes. The second thing we see are the hands, slowly reaching out for the needed supplies. Then we see the faces, and the fact that none of their lips move to make a significant sound. We don't see who they're running from. We don't know who they're running from. The entirety of the sequence is nothing but small sounds and Marco Beltrami's poignant piano piece. It's so devoid of any actual significant sound, yet it's so effective, because what happens next is like a bucket of ice cold water that pulls you out from your sleep.
Because this film is devoid of words, the things you see and hear are for you to work out, and not for the characters to tell you. A post-apocalyptic like setting is enough to tell you that the majority of humanity has been wiped out, or the complete absence of sound in order to tell you that a character is deaf. Sound and image are both characters on its own journey that takes us through its lucious yet beautifully terrifying world. The deafening silence of sound and atmosphere is what makes the film immersive, poignant, and once the monsters come out; completely riveting.
Sound is key here, even if it's devoid of human sounds. Small sounds such as a bag stuck on a rusty nail or the sound of grains become trigger mechanisms for imminent danger. And that creates a whole new level of suspense. Even my theater went completely silent, something that doesn't happen very often. It's a reversal of It in terms of showing the antagonists, where in It, Pennywise is first shown through sight, through his appearance. His voice comes after he is shown, and we immediately know the figure that owns the voice rather than voice before the figure. The way the film introduces the monsters that roam around the lands are not by sight, but by sound. Like the Xenomorphs from Alien, the first time we actually get a glimpse of the creatures is through the stomping and the growling of the monsters.
The runtime of the film may not be long, but it's actually an effective choice for a film with a simple premise: it's about a family trying to survive from monstrous predators that hunt by sound. Krasinski creates great character moments that ensure us that by the time the terror happens, we are rooting for this family to survive. There's issues to be had in a family forced to live in silence, they are trying with all their might to survive, and Krasinski sets this up beautifully.
And the suspense is just freaking excellent. For Krasinski's first time directing a feature film this thrilling, he nailed it. A Quiet Place is one hell of a thrill, and I was enthralled through every act. Yes, it does have some tropes that you'd find in a survival film, but there's something about A Quiet Place that sticks with you. Since sound and image play as vital of a role as the actors in conveying the story without the use of words; the suspense is amped up that much more because of it. Never has suspense been this effective since Ridley Scott's Alien, or Fede Álvarez's Don't Breathe but A Quiet Place without a doubt, joins the ranks effortlessly.
Stars: 4.4/5
Trailer
 |
| Image source: bloody-disgusting.com, Paramount Pictures |
Director: John Krasinski
Cast: John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds.
My Film Studies lecturer once said that the opening of a film is vital. It's the first thing you see of the film. Its job is to invest us in the setting and the characters that we are about to follow. The opening of a film is what hooks us in and gives us questions that would be answered in a later time. A Quite Place is an excellent example of how to begin a film.
A Quite Place takes place in the near future, where nearly the entire population is wiped out by creatures that hunt by sound rather than sight. We're introduced to the Abbott family, one of, if not the only family alive. They live by one rule: never make a sound, hence why they communicate with sign language for the majority of the film.
A Quite Place is a film that relies heavily on performances. John Krasinski, also the director of the film; manages to create excellent performances out of not only his other actors, but himself as well. A Quiet Place is a film where emotions tell the story, not the words, and these actors, Krasinski, Blunt, Jupe, and Simmonds; all deliver strong performances that draws us into attention, even when it's not through what they say, but the wordless messages that are conveyed through their emotions. When not terrorized, the family peacefully live under their one rule. The father and son hunt for fish, the daughter accompanies her pregnant mother at home. Like The Babadook, it's a sure sign of normalcy that manipulates the audience into the scenery of a peaceful scenario. Had it not been for the monsters, one would have thought it to be a normal family living on a farm.
 |
| Image source: bloody-disgusting.com, Paramount Pictures |
The post-apocalyptic setting of A Quiet Place is introduced similarly to how the Nostromo and its crew are introduced in the beginning of Alien. The only sound we hear are the humming of the engines, and the opening of the cryo pods, revealing rather than explaining. With A Quite Place, the opening of the film takes place in an abandoned local store, where the first thing we see of the family are their bare feet. This prompts the question, why are they barefoot? One even walks on tiptoes. The second thing we see are the hands, slowly reaching out for the needed supplies. Then we see the faces, and the fact that none of their lips move to make a significant sound. We don't see who they're running from. We don't know who they're running from. The entirety of the sequence is nothing but small sounds and Marco Beltrami's poignant piano piece. It's so devoid of any actual significant sound, yet it's so effective, because what happens next is like a bucket of ice cold water that pulls you out from your sleep.
Because this film is devoid of words, the things you see and hear are for you to work out, and not for the characters to tell you. A post-apocalyptic like setting is enough to tell you that the majority of humanity has been wiped out, or the complete absence of sound in order to tell you that a character is deaf. Sound and image are both characters on its own journey that takes us through its lucious yet beautifully terrifying world. The deafening silence of sound and atmosphere is what makes the film immersive, poignant, and once the monsters come out; completely riveting.
Sound is key here, even if it's devoid of human sounds. Small sounds such as a bag stuck on a rusty nail or the sound of grains become trigger mechanisms for imminent danger. And that creates a whole new level of suspense. Even my theater went completely silent, something that doesn't happen very often. It's a reversal of It in terms of showing the antagonists, where in It, Pennywise is first shown through sight, through his appearance. His voice comes after he is shown, and we immediately know the figure that owns the voice rather than voice before the figure. The way the film introduces the monsters that roam around the lands are not by sight, but by sound. Like the Xenomorphs from Alien, the first time we actually get a glimpse of the creatures is through the stomping and the growling of the monsters.
 |
| Image source: bloody-disgusting.com, Paramount Pictures |
The runtime of the film may not be long, but it's actually an effective choice for a film with a simple premise: it's about a family trying to survive from monstrous predators that hunt by sound. Krasinski creates great character moments that ensure us that by the time the terror happens, we are rooting for this family to survive. There's issues to be had in a family forced to live in silence, they are trying with all their might to survive, and Krasinski sets this up beautifully.
And the suspense is just freaking excellent. For Krasinski's first time directing a feature film this thrilling, he nailed it. A Quiet Place is one hell of a thrill, and I was enthralled through every act. Yes, it does have some tropes that you'd find in a survival film, but there's something about A Quiet Place that sticks with you. Since sound and image play as vital of a role as the actors in conveying the story without the use of words; the suspense is amped up that much more because of it. Never has suspense been this effective since Ridley Scott's Alien, or Fede Álvarez's Don't Breathe but A Quiet Place without a doubt, joins the ranks effortlessly.
Stars: 4.4/5
Trailer
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