John Krasinski has directed a masterpiece with A Quiet Place in only his third true big screen turn behind the camera. He also co-wrote the screenplay and stars in the horror-thriller-alien invasion film that is destined to be a classic.
The creative force of nature behind A Quiet Place stars as Lee Abbott with his wife Emily Blunt turning in one of her greatest performances as his onscreen better half, Evelyn Abbott. The pair are parents to several young children. The challenges of raising children have always been many for parents across history, but in the landscape that is Krasinski’s film, the stress is never-ending, palpable and impeccably captured by the filmmaker and his cast.
There is not much in terms of exposition or backstory, but we certainly can glean that aliens have invaded Earth and left much of the human population dead in their wake. The Abbotts have survived, yes due to their many precautions, but also through diligence and intelligence in how they face down the ultimate of threats. This enemy only strikes if it can hear you, so silence is truly golden. The family lives in a remote area, but in many ways that makes them more of a target. With little else surrounding them, the littlest noise the is emitted can be discerned by the aliens as coming from the Abbott home.
To make this more complicated, Evelyn is pregnant. One does not have to have been in a delivery room to know that the miracle of birth is anything but quiet! That scene is one of the more hauntingly suspenseful in the entire film, but then again, it’s hard to discern between the brilliance that is each and every scene in A Quiet Place.
The cast does so much with so little in terms of verbal expression. It is the supreme challenge for all involved to convey the cornucopia of emotions with nothing but their faces and their bodies. Verbal moments are few and far between and when a noise does arise, Krasinski has mesmerizingly crafted a world that so permeates our soul that every drop of fear and adrenaline that is exhibited by the players on screen is internalized by his audience. It is a stroke of filmmaking genius.
Initially when Krasinski penned the thriller, his wife did not want to be a part of it, other than providing spousal support as he searched to find the perfect actress to play the heart and soul of this tale. Then, she read the script and the rest is history. There was no one else, she felt, that could perform the role in a manner that would meet all the unspoken requirements laid out in her husband’s script. Thank goodness she had an in with the guy making the movie! She turns in a performance that is among her best, if not her best. It’s a long way out… but I could not think of a turn by any actress that will surpass it in 2018. Yes, we are saying that an Oscar nomination should be bestowed on the British thespian. It is a role that should resonate all year long.
Many times, real life husband and wives have portrayed cinematic partners and the results have not been great. That is absolutely not the case with Krasinski and Blunt in A Quiet Place. They make movie magic together in a simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking manner that has us hoping this is simply the beginning of their onscreen pairing. Perhaps in the future, they could work together in something that is a little more romantic than horrifyingly riveting!
There is not much more to the cast than the family itself. In many ways, it recalls M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs in that it tells a terrifying tale of global proportions, but only in how it affects a family living in a remote area. Signs was a solid film, but what Krasinski does with a similar concept is uncanny. His filmmaking mark, thanks to this work, is massive. Film fanatics will be dissecting his accomplishments with a fine-tooth comb because it is just so existentially exquisite.
A Quiet Place reveals much about us as humans, us as parents, us as children and how their role in the family dynamic plays out in a timeless manner. This is a story that could have taken place in the Dark Ages or the future, what screenwriters and director have done is universal and transcends culture and geography as well.
The evocative film is a stunning achievement on many levels.
Grade: A+