Voices Carry: Review of A Quiet Place

A Quiet Place

Director: John Krasinski

By Alex Watson

John Krasinski has always been a dependable character actor. Stepping behind the lens, he reveals another very talented side of himself. Along with real-life wife Emily Blunt, A Quiet Place is one the most original and terrifying concepts that horror has offered in some time. Silence is the keyword throughout Krasinski's film and audience members should think twice about purchasing concessions because any rustling may cause people to jump.

Lee Abbott (John Krasinski) along with his wife Evelyn (Emily Blunt) and children Marcus (Noah Jupe) and Regan (Millicent Simmonds) live a secluded life on a rural property. The population of earth has drastically decreased as a group of invading aliens kill people based on hearing sounds. As a result, the family must live in total silence and try not to attract the alien's attention.

From the very first frame, A Quiet Place is designed to be stomach clenching. Quickly we learn about the dangers that the world now faces. In a very original twist, the aliens are in fact blind and attack based on sound, not sight. The Abbotts are family still reeling from a very personal tragedy in the opening sequence of the film. Evelyn is now heavily pregnant and the prospect of carrying a child into this new world is truly terrifying for them. Krasinski makes every small noise feel like impending disaster- a broken lamp, a scream or any tiny element of sound will mean a potential attack! Sound not only carries but it can also protect the family as well. In one scene, Lee teaches his son how the loud running stream next to them will mask any small noises. This family is permanently stuck in survival mode and this is part of what makes so appealing. Throughout they demonstrate a brand of smarts which give them the jump on their enemies when they most need it.

Throughout this film, there are red herrings to some potential disasters. An exposed nail will lead to one of the tensest sequences this picture can offer. For a movie that incorporates such little dialogue, it is impressive how layered the characters are. Lee is a man who simply wants his family to be safe and is obsessively looking for a weakness in his enemies. His fractured relationship with Regan is one of the pictures core elements. His daughter is deaf and suffers from terminal guilt over the earlier events of the movie- in her mind, she believes her fathers holds her responsible. Evelyn is the mama bear who is trying to hold it all together will still fearing for their own safety. Krasinski demonstrates a great eye and each shot in the movie feels authentic and carefully considered. While he does give one too many unnecessary jump scares, this blend of horror is completely unique.

A Quiet Place is strongest whenever a threat is present. Taking inspiration from classic horrors such as Alien, Krasinski makes us sit in silent terror as the Abbotts become the hunted. With some slick and memorable camera work by DP Charlotte Bruus Christensen, Kraskinski is able to draw his audience into this world and make us feel like we're also trapped with them. The third act also demonstrates how deeply this family love goes and there are moments of pure heartbreak which are also thoroughly uplifting. This picture refuses to simply descend into a shoot-em-up finale and instead it delivers an incredibly smart and unexpected payoff. The most terrifying part about this movie is that in this world- literally, no one can hear you scream.

John Krasinski is also on top form with his acting as well. Delivering most of his dialogue through sign language or expressions, Krasinski's turn speaks volumes. He able to convey a father's unlimited love and concern for his children using a very minimalist approach. Always an actor that we have thought capable in big films, Krasinski is now seen a brand new light. Emily Blunt adds some star power to this picture, but she matches her husband throughout. Through her silence, we can feel her characters unease but we can also sense the inner strength that she has to survive in this cruel world.

A Quiet Place is a horror film that earns points on its concept alone. A nerve-shredding and highly suspenseful affair, John Krasinski has arrived on the directorial stage.

Derailed: Review of The Girl On The Train

The Girl On The Train

Director: Tate Taylor

By Alex Watson

Book adaptations often divide fan opinions, but in the case of Tate Taylor's adaptation of Paula Hawkins popular thriller The Girl On The Train, the cries of anguish have been loud. Many fans were upset by the unnecessary changing of the story from London to New York and by the casting of Emily Blunt who was deemed 'too beautiful' for the role by Hawkins herself. While it may not be a complete disaster, this movie drops well short of the expectations and what could have been a well-crafted thrill ride turns into a ride to nowhere.

Rachel Watson (Emily Blunt) is an alcoholic divorcee who still pines for her former life with ex-husband Tom (Justin Theroux). Taking the same train every day, she sees him playing happy family with the woman he left her for Anna (Rebecca Ferguson). On the same train, she observes the couple next door Scott (Luke Evans) and Megan (Haley Bennett) who to Rachel seem to like the perfect couple. When Megan goes missing and is presumed dead, Rachel takes it upon herself to find out what happened. By involving herself in her old world and invading other people's lives a dangerous path follows.

While the moving of location to New York might be one of the stronger points of The Girl On The Train it lacks the needed tension that book gave in buckets. The early train rides past her old neighborhood in upstate New York are breathtaking. We feel the pain as the train stops and forces her to gaze upon her husband living in their old house with the woman who ruined things.  Another plus point is how Tate Taylor with brutal honesty demonstrates the effects of Rachel's alcoholism and how her misery has compiled from her self-loathing. Bitter about her divorce and unable to shake the past she is lost in a sea of despair and her constant appearances have caused friction. After waking from one particularly disturbing blackout, she is shaken to the core.

The skewed narrative does well to show Rachel as an unreliable narrator and its non-linear structure makes us second guess frequently. Permanently sozzled, we often wonder if Rachel is hiding something as she can never seem to remember anything "I'm not the girl I used to be" she denotes frequently. Investigating officer Detective Riley (Allison Janney) suspects she knows more but Rachel is unable to trace her steps. Megan and Scott represent everything she yearns for, but as events inform us all is not as it appears. While it is key to the plot, Megan's story feels undercooked and doesn't quite draw us in. Haley Bennett looks the part of the devoted wife, but she fails to really engage. Her supposedly volatile relationship with Scott is never properly explored and her sessions with the mysterious Dr. Kamal Abdic (Edgar Ramirez) fill more like fillers than actual plot devices.

Key to the fans frustration in The Girl On The Train is Erin Cressida Wilson's script, what starts as promising stuff soon ruins itself with its insistence on too many twists, the majority of which feel predictable and it lacks the suspense of the novel. The final act which was soon shocking on paper just feels bland and near laughable. Taylor tries to dress things up well, but his talented cast cannot bring this to fruition. The cinematography of Charlotte Bruus Christensen is the real star of the piece as through her gliding shots she draws the audience into the heart of things. She firmly captures the continual insomnia of Megan and Anna's restlessness with her perfect home life. One notable exception is watching Rachel waking up to more than a hangover in her room, through Christensen she wakes up to pools of vomit, blood, and a nasty head wound. This one scene is the element that changes the tide.

What holds the film together is an outstanding star turn by Emily Blunt who is proving herself a capable actress across multiple forms. Blunt does more than just capture Rachel's continual drunkenness she absolutely nails her fragility and disillusion of how her once perfect life has gone south. In one amazing monolog, she ably demonstrates the characters self-destruction, hatred, and her desperation. Mesmerizing throughout, Blunt holds the audience sympathy but never crosses over into alienating them. She also gives Rachel a good air of hope and we hope she finds the redemption she so needs. Many criticized Blunt as miscast in this role, but it is impossible to think of the picture working without her.

The Girl On The Train will go down as a badly missed opportunity, it might be a pretty looking ride but its lack of story will have fanatics steaming at the ears.

South of The Border: Review of Sicario

Sicario

Director: Denis Villeneuve

By Alex Watson

Slowly burning tension from the opening frame, Denis Villeneuve delivers one of the finest efforts of 2015 with Sicario. This story of the FBI attempting to bring down a Mexican cartel is one that is thoroughly heart-stopping and excellently creates a sense of unease about the situation unfolding. Aided by some gorgeous and striking cinematography by veteran Roger Deakins and a cracking and unpredictable script by Taylor Sheridan, Villeneuve succeeds in drawing us in a world where the law has been long forgotten. 

Kate Macy (Emily Blunt) is a member of the FBI Kidnapping team, but when a raid in Arizona goes wrong a media firestorm ensues. A Mexican cartel has operated dangerously close to the border which prompts official Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) to convince to join a task force to bring them down. When she arrives in Juarez, Mexico she discovers that this teams approach to bring down the enemy is a bewildering one. Also the arrival of shady operative Alejandro (Benecio Del Toro) only heightens her suspicions. 

"This is a land of wolves" says Alejandro at one stage and Villeneuve early on throws into a world where ruthlessness reigns supreme. A thrilling opening raid on a cartel safe-house sets the tone, purely for the fact the aftermath is one of extreme horror. Shaken by this revelation, Kate desires to do good joining Graven, only to find a more frightening discovery. Everywhere there is a lurking sense of dread and the lack of explanation about Alejandro only adds fuel to the fire. A buttoned down and silence presence who goes "where I am sent" underneath there lies a traumatized and unscrupulous figure who idea of justice is a nauseating one. 

Kate is always struggling to understand what motives are at stake with Graven's operation? When it becomes clear that his wish is to break the rules of engagement and strike fear into cartel hearts, events take a turn into more dangerous territory. One moment while transporting a key figure back to US soil sees them stuck in traffic on the Bridge of the Americas. Knuckles tighten as they look around for potential shooters, only to Kate's horror they casual execute several members in broad daylight! There are blurred lines of procedure and Graven's macho and cynical attitude only serves to push her ideals even further down. 

What starts as a simple operation broadens into a much wider picture and Villeneuve skillfully alert us that wiping out this cartel might be the main idea. Sicario boasts a superb paranoid edge to it and we are able to engage with Kate's fears and doubts about what has become involved with. Villeneuve's shows himself a capable director and masterfully handles the movies heavier qualities with ease. His finale set against an all or nothing raid on a key cartel site is almost like something out a video game with its infra-red camera use. His last message though is the most potent that law is sometimes brutally enforced by the lawless. 

Emily Blunt is an inspired piece of casting for the picture and she is able to bring across a steely resolve mixed with a heavy fragility. Kate is a woman who brings across a sense of confidence in what she wants to achieve, but gradually Blunt gives her character a terrific sense of disillusion in the movies later stage. Josh Brolin is a forceful presence and his jokey and scornful approach to bring down his enemies makes him almost as much of a villain as it does ally.  Benicio Del Toro steals the supporting honors with a masterclass in repressed emotion combined with fearlessness. 

Denis Villeneuve has finally made the cross over from his earlier more psychological work and proves a stunning and adept action thriller director. Sicario is one of the most tense and absorbing films you will have the pleasure of seeing in 2015

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