After well-rated short films by critics and viewers, director and screenwriter Camille Griffin made her full-length cinematic debut in 2021 with a black horror-themed comedy, "Silent Night". Is the film worthy of attention? This is a question I will try to answer for you in this brief review.
It is a very strange feeling to see a film in the film repertoire in May, one of the main themes of which is Christmas Eve.
The Plot
Nell, Simon, and their son Art is looking forward to relatives and friends coming to Christmas Eve. But inside, each of them feels disgusting because it will be the last night on Earth for both them and their guests. And worst of all, as death draws to a close, it is not known how each of them will behave, which of course can thwart their plans to spend a cozy and precisely planned evening surrounded by loved ones.
The first time I became alert was when the children began to carry some kind of buzz about poisonous gases. Then an understanding came when in the conversations of adults, a mysterious pill and everything connected with it appeared.
Further in the story, we learn that an ecological disaster has occurred, and now, due to a poisonous gas cloud that moves around the planet and gradually kills all life, our heroes will have to die in the morning. To make death less painful, the good government distributed to all people special pills for suicide. Drank - and you're already in heaven. No noise or dust. And so all these cheerful, but nervous guests and hosts agreed in advance that after the meeting of Christmas, they would all go together to another world with their children, after drinking these very pills. Well, how do you like this humor?
Content
I thought it would be another standard film about Christmas Eve, revealing a lot of secrets and causing conflicts among family members. And that was partly the case, but with one very important change: the theme of death was touched upon. It is displayed in all its beauty. By what principle is death conveyed here is in a truly unpleasant way. Especially because the film also features children who have received a lot of attention here, and the macabre-looking scenes with them have personally caused me elementary anger and sadness. However, the very idea of death and the cause of all this is partly understandable, though not justified by certain nuances that have become the cause of that death.
Of course, in addition to the theme of death, there is another important theme in the film - life and its joy. And that at least caused me the greatest bliss in watching this movie. However, not everyone is able to enjoy life, have fun, have a good time and feel happy in a particular moment, despite all the worries that lie on their head. Also not banal dialogues, witty jokes, and curious situations have enlivened the film too.
We also have a lot of different, interesting, colorful characters in the film, to whom I clearly felt a kind of sympathy and antipathy at the same time.But these are already plot decisions that made them look in one way, and after certain events, completely differently.
However, a very correct decision has been made on several characters, which does not change anything, but shows that some of the characters and their story waves were here only to not offend anyone because of race, orientation or sexism. And not everyone was fully exposed, which hit the overall drama of the film a little.
The topic touched upon, of course, is the most important, and it makes you think thoroughly about many things. Our poor globe is so polluted with chemical waste and the results of the destructive life of people who do not protect the environment, but live according to the principle "take everything you can, we live once, and after can be a flood" - so, the slightest catastrophe can be the last for our Earth. But the presentation of this paramount topic on the screen turned out to be a bit disgusting.
So in summary, because it is still a very minimalist project of one space, I can say that it looks fresh, although it does not cause much admiration for the story itself. So if not for that one specific accent about death, the film would look like another project about family conflict at the Christmas table. And such films can be watched boldly at home and not in the spring, but waiting for Christmas in December.
Technical side
As I mentioned, the film is very minimalist, but technically it’s really great. The good and agile, sometimes chaotic, but at the same time energy-efficient operation of the camera was one of the essential trumps here.
The soundtrack is fun. Especially because of a few songs that are nicely inserted into the plot line, among which Irene Cara's hit "Fame" could be heard.
The video and audio montage was in order, and the artistic design was, in my opinion, also very well adapted to the theme of death being developed on screen.
Characters and actors
It can be said that the actors here also tried to do the good, though not very well-finished characters. Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Lucy Punch, and Roman Griffin Davis have convincingly demonstrated their acting abilities and together have become perhaps the most striking actors in the film, having managed to black out everyone else. But I think their acting potential could have been exploited in a much better cinema.
Keira Knightley as the mistress of many children - Nell - not particularly impressed me. I even caught myself thinking why she even starred in such nonsense. But it was possible to make a really worthy film out of this farce. Not a black comedy, but a real thriller or drama.
I think the real star of the film is the young actor Roman Griffin Davis, who again got a social role. Art (that was the name of his character) was the only one asking questions, and not just stupidly decided to take a pill. He cannot and does not want to put up with the inexorably approaching end, everything in him protests against the terrible inevitability. Where adults have already given up and are doomedly preparing for death, although how can one prepare for it, this handsome boy is trying in his own way, childishly, to deal with a terrible situation.
The Verdict
"Silent Night" is a film project that develops a macabre theme, has a black humor and creates a festive atmosphere. So the lifeguards of the film in this case are the actors who don't lack charisma, and a great technical part of the minimalist style.
In general, if everything is presented in reality, then the topic is certainly terrible. Think about that you, your children, would need to decide on such a step. To die well, not to die badly. It's scary.
On the one hand, an interesting, attention grabbing topic, and this is a huge plus for the movie, and on the other, a sluggish, but at the same time rough presentation. Here is such a paradox and a fat minus of the whole action.
Have a good time if you decide to watch it.
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Thank you for reading. You are always welcome to check my posts.
All photos are screenshots of the movie.
"Do what is right, mot what is easy nor what is popular" - R. T. BENNETH.
With love @lili255