A Quiet Place Review: An Honest Family Portrait
In narrative fiction, the subject of family is often used as a plot device. Either the family is perfect at the start of the story so that it can be torn apart in the inciting incident or it's the worst family in the world so it can be fixed by the end. To this point, there has not been a film which chooses to depict the average family, showing the bond of love which keeps them together through the best, worst and even average times of life. It's amazing that it took a post-apocalyptic monster thriller to paint an honest, endearing, relatable portrait of the average American family.
Some time after an invasion by a mysterious alien race, a family of four is attempting to survive their newly hostile environment. While they try to lead literally quiet lives to avoid being detected by the aliens' super sense of hearing, they attempt to lead relatively normal lives, with their family at the center of their survival.
While the film was advertised as a horror/thriller with an interesting hook, I think the film could be more accurately described as a drama exploring how the family can survive without the expectations or counter-expectations that come with society. The film has a lot of time dedicated to how the family interacts with one another in this bare-bones environment. There is no political or cultural stimuli telling these people what they should or shouldn't be doing; it's only them and the natural responsibilities which they've been handed. The mother and father (Emily Blunt and John Krasinski respectively) are the providers and protectors of their children (Millicent Simmonds/Noah Jupe), each of them showing their love in different, but natural ways. They find comfort in each other as husband and wife, helping each other to get through this harsh time. Their children have realistic conflicts with them and have insecurities you could see kids having.
What helps to make the love between the family believable is that much of it has to be show visually. Because of the aliens' keen sense of hearing, much of the story has to be told either visually or through sign-language, which the family knows because of their deaf daughter. There are many points throughout the film when the emotion is shown through visuals and it is so much more powerful than if they had just told each other how they felt about them. Seeing an act of love or affection can be more powerful than just saying "I love you" and A Quiet Place understands this.
With John Krasinski being a first time director and having primarily worked in comedy before this, I was interested to see how he would handle directing a thriller. The best I can tell, Krasinski seems to understand the pacing needed for a thriller, as the shots are often long to build up the tension. However, he doesn't seem to grasp the cinematography needed for horror. The film is shot more like a drama than a horror film, exclusively using a high-quality telephoto lens and not using any angles that would give the audience that cold disconnect that comes from horror.
It's also lit a bit too comfortably. Horror is usually lit in cool colors like blue or white to create a sense of discomfort. If they're ever shot in warm colors, they're often intensified, so that that colors like orange or yellow seem ungodly hot rather than warm and inviting. The majority of A Quiet Place, however, is shot in a comforting glow of orange, like a pleasant fire. This was probably used to give a sense of safety in their home before the aliens arrive, at which point some attempt is made to illuminate the set in harsh reds and cold blues. However, that comforting feeling established with the lighting in the beginning is never truly shaken and the coloring in the climax never gets to the level of The Shining or Hereditary where just the hue is enough to affect you.
The acting is pretty good from everybody, with Emily Blunt taking away the MVP award of the project. Out of the cast, she's given the most opportunity to emote and show off her range. John Krasinski is good, able to convincingly portray quiet strength. The child actors are ok, though it's Millicent Simmonds who stands out. She's incredibly expressive with both her face and body language despite never saying a word.
A Quiet Place might not be a technical masterpiece or an effective horror film, but it is the best exploration and celebration of family that I've seen in a film. Showing the love and commitment that lasts through the best, worst and even most average of times, A Quiet Place portrays what a lot of families are and what all families should be.
Some time after an invasion by a mysterious alien race, a family of four is attempting to survive their newly hostile environment. While they try to lead literally quiet lives to avoid being detected by the aliens' super sense of hearing, they attempt to lead relatively normal lives, with their family at the center of their survival.
While the film was advertised as a horror/thriller with an interesting hook, I think the film could be more accurately described as a drama exploring how the family can survive without the expectations or counter-expectations that come with society. The film has a lot of time dedicated to how the family interacts with one another in this bare-bones environment. There is no political or cultural stimuli telling these people what they should or shouldn't be doing; it's only them and the natural responsibilities which they've been handed. The mother and father (Emily Blunt and John Krasinski respectively) are the providers and protectors of their children (Millicent Simmonds/Noah Jupe), each of them showing their love in different, but natural ways. They find comfort in each other as husband and wife, helping each other to get through this harsh time. Their children have realistic conflicts with them and have insecurities you could see kids having.
What helps to make the love between the family believable is that much of it has to be show visually. Because of the aliens' keen sense of hearing, much of the story has to be told either visually or through sign-language, which the family knows because of their deaf daughter. There are many points throughout the film when the emotion is shown through visuals and it is so much more powerful than if they had just told each other how they felt about them. Seeing an act of love or affection can be more powerful than just saying "I love you" and A Quiet Place understands this.
With John Krasinski being a first time director and having primarily worked in comedy before this, I was interested to see how he would handle directing a thriller. The best I can tell, Krasinski seems to understand the pacing needed for a thriller, as the shots are often long to build up the tension. However, he doesn't seem to grasp the cinematography needed for horror. The film is shot more like a drama than a horror film, exclusively using a high-quality telephoto lens and not using any angles that would give the audience that cold disconnect that comes from horror.
It's also lit a bit too comfortably. Horror is usually lit in cool colors like blue or white to create a sense of discomfort. If they're ever shot in warm colors, they're often intensified, so that that colors like orange or yellow seem ungodly hot rather than warm and inviting. The majority of A Quiet Place, however, is shot in a comforting glow of orange, like a pleasant fire. This was probably used to give a sense of safety in their home before the aliens arrive, at which point some attempt is made to illuminate the set in harsh reds and cold blues. However, that comforting feeling established with the lighting in the beginning is never truly shaken and the coloring in the climax never gets to the level of The Shining or Hereditary where just the hue is enough to affect you.
The acting is pretty good from everybody, with Emily Blunt taking away the MVP award of the project. Out of the cast, she's given the most opportunity to emote and show off her range. John Krasinski is good, able to convincingly portray quiet strength. The child actors are ok, though it's Millicent Simmonds who stands out. She's incredibly expressive with both her face and body language despite never saying a word.
A Quiet Place might not be a technical masterpiece or an effective horror film, but it is the best exploration and celebration of family that I've seen in a film. Showing the love and commitment that lasts through the best, worst and even most average of times, A Quiet Place portrays what a lot of families are and what all families should be.
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