Story by Andrew Nation / Contributing Writer
What “A Quiet Place” lacks in dialogue, it makes up for in just about everything else.
In the film Lee Abbott, acted and directed by John Krasinski, and his family must survive against a mysterious monster who tracks prey through sound. The monsters are completely blind, but their ability to use the smallest sounds to hunt down their next meal is both frightening and unreal. Needless to say, I was on the edge of my seat throughout the entire movie — there were hardly any slow moments. It took the chance to tell the story it wanted to tell. The movie only having a 90-minute runtime allowed Krasinski to be short, sweet and to the point.
“A Quiet Place” doesn’t feel the need to overcomplicate itself. The movie is about a family and what they have done to survive over the past year and a half that these monsters have terrorized the Earth. It doesn’t take any unnecessary steps to get to that point. It focuses on survival, loss and love.
Each scene seemed more suspenseful and impactful than the last. Perfect setups led to perfect executions. Each sound was played up in the movie to make sure the audience could feel the anxiety of the characters in the scenes. Every broken twig, piece of glass and footstep places the audience hand-in-hand with the Abott family’s newfound silent lifestyle.
One of the most powerful aspects of the movie was Abbott’s deaf daughter Regan, portrayed by deaf actress Millicent Simmonds. In a movie made up of silence, I thought being deaf might be an advantage but it certainly led to disturbing scenes. Whenever the movie would shift to her perspective, the movie would be in complete silence. However, the movie also takes the time to show that, even with disabilities, everyone has the chance to go beyond what is expected of them.
The relationship between Lee and his wife has flawless chemistry, which probably has to do with the fact that John Krasinski and Emily Blunt are married in real life. The two characters had such a love for each other and their family, it added that much more suspense.
Because the movie only had four main characters, it was able to give an in-depth look at how the family interacted. Focusing on a nuclear family like the Abbotts further involves the audience in the movie. You’ll leave the theater thinking about how your own family would survive in that situation — or if you could.
It seems rare in 2018 to find a movie that prefers quality over quantity. A lot of movies would rather have a two-hour runtime with 30 minutes of filler rather than an hour-and-a-half runtime with a consistently good story. It was certainly a rare find, but an excellent one.
Much like the movie itself, there are no words to explain how highly I would recommend everyone go see “A Quiet Place.”
To contact Lifestyles Editor Tayhlor Stephenson, email [email protected].
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I don’t think this article really shows the brilliance of this movie. First off, John Krasinski shows amazing all around talent in this film. Not only does he star in the movie along side his real life wife Emily Blunt, but he was the director and contributing writer. The movie presents a fresh idea: Monsters that attack sound. The silence of the movie alone creates a since of anxiety like no other movie can deliver. While watching the movie, you find yourself nervous for just eating your snack too loud! The movie also doesn’t skip on the twists and turns. You never get bored because you can never guess what is about to happen next. Originally, this movie was supposed to be a part of the “Cloverfield” series. Luckily they decided against that, because this movie much better than any movie in that series. The lack of dialogue in the movie speaks (no pun intended) to how well put together it is. Without talking, the movie is able to bring you in emotionally to where the characters on screen are. This movie has received favorable reviews, but I still think it is underrated. If you have not had a chance to see this film, this should be the next one on your list. It is easily one of the best movies of 2018.