The whole basis behind the A Quiet Place movies is presenting thrillers that have as little dialogue as possible. It seems current movies are really loud and have dialogue in which people talk in a way where we can’t hear much. I’ve noticed the older movies didn’t have that problem. But the last couple of decades, you’re having to turn the subtitles on so you can make sure what you’re hearing what is being said.
I noticed this same problem with cable movies especially when you recorded them on videocassettes, it didn’t work as well as it should. It wasn’t until years later when I got satellite cable and high-def TVs that I actually heard the mother on the phone in The Fifth Element. So, we’ve become now a generation that just turns movies and TV on as background noise.
Do people actually sit and watch a movie from beginning to end without looking at their phone or reading something? Maybe that’s why people aren’t so willing to go to the movies anymore because they can’t play on their phones. Of course, some movie theaters were fun-filled with people talking back to the screens. Even if you were seeing a bad movie, it was still fun.
The Quiet Place movies demand we watch a lot of what we see. When the TV parody show Police Squad aired, it had so many sight gags, you could miss them if you didn’t pay attention. And this is believed to have contributed to its cancellation. But the old silent movies worked mainly by using music to keep the audience amazed.
The first Quiet Place was impressive in how much of American Sign Language was used and how little dialogue there was. However, there were a lot of problems with the movie. But I think A Quiet Place: Day One is an attempt to use the concept without all the issues people have had with the previous movies. One of the questions asked was how could a family survive so long without having to do basic bodily functions like coughing, sneezing or even flatulence.
Samira (Lupita Nyong’o) is a terminally ill hospice patient at a facility outside of New York City. The pending death has made her pessimistic. All she cares for his her tuxedo-male cat, Frodo. One day, a nurse, Reuben (Alex Wolff), convinces her to go to a marionette show on the promise they will visit the famous Patsy’s pizza restaurant in Harlem.
However, as they get ready to leave the show, Reuben receives a phone call and says they have to go directly back to the hospice facility. But they soon notice meteorites fall from the sky and extraterrestrial creatures are attacking the people all over. An explosion knocks Samira, or Sam as she’s called, unconscious and she ends up back in the theater with Reuben and Henri (Djimon Hounsou) who advises her to be quiet.
What follows is your basic alien invasion plot where a lot of people do a lot of stupid things. But the good news is the cat doesn’t die. In many ways, Frodo becomes a supporting character in the movie as an English man, Eric (Joseph Quinn), escapes from a flooded subway station and follows the cat to Sam. By writing notes and talking under the rain, Sam tells Eric she’s gone to Harlem and doesn’t want him to follow her. But he’s in shock and continues to follow her.
Over time, they bond and he helps her out. And yes, they eventually make it to Patsy’s where they can enjoy some pizza for one last time. Michael Sarnoski takes over directing from John Krasinki who gets a story by and producer credit. His last movie was the impressive, Pig, featuring Nicolas Cage as a hermit grieving the loss of his pig. It’s also nice to see Henri back as he was in the second movie, even though he doesn’t have much screen time here as he did in the second movie.
Both Nyong’o and Quinn give good performances especially considering they are on screen for most of the run time. I got on my phone to wonder where I had seen Quinn before and realized he had played Eddie Munson on the fourth season of Stranger Things. This shows how good of an actor he is that he can escape into roles. And since most of the acting is Nyong’o and Quinn doing things in silence, it takes a lot of talent.
Great dialogue and monologues are one thing for actors. But many have said they like doing scenes where they don’t speak and have to do regular things. Granted, there’s a lot of reacting in this movie but the crux of the movie is how much we care for Sam and Eric, as well as Frodo who seems to be using up his nine lives. You got to hand it to a cat that can remain calm during an alien invasion especially when the creatures move and attack by sound.
I’m not sure if they should do another one of these movies. Like the previous two, it was a huge blockbuster. But there’s only so much you can do with this concept. Now that we’ve seen the invasion in a major city and the response, the story seems complete especially with how they know to kill the creatures.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 