opening the theater 1st December is John Wof’silent night,’ acting Joel Kinnaman, Scott Mescudi, Harold TorresAnd Catalina Sandino Moreno.
Initial thoughts
It’s been 20 years since John Woo made a movie for an American studio, and this Hong Kong master of the action genre is missed in his absence. Wu indeed brings several of his trademark stylistic moves to ‘Silent Night’ and is aided by a ferocious performance by Joel Kinnaman. But both bogged down by a derivative revenge story and a gimmick that quickly becomes contrived, Wu’s return to Hollywood makes for a mixed bag.
Story and direction
was beforeJohn Wick‘or’the uterus‘or’fast and furious,’ there was John Woo. Hong Kong masters of action cinema rose to international fame in the late 1980s and early 90s with such masterpieces of visceral action and violence.the killer‘ and ‘Shot in the head,’ which pushed two-fisted shootouts, almost gravity-defying action and operatic, grotesquely sentimental epics of male relationships and loyalty to the breaking point and beyond.
Wu eventually found his way to Hollywood, but after a string of hits and misses that included two legitimately great films – ‘broken arrow‘ and ‘face/off‘ – He returned to filmmaking in Hong Kong after a disappointing 2003.paycheck.’ But now he is back on these shores for his first Hollywood film in two decades, the revenge thriller ‘Silent Night’.
Joel Kinnaman plays Brian Godlock (yes, that’s the name) who, when we first meet him, is wearing a bloody ugly Christmas sweater and chases two cars on foot while the car’s occupants exchange wild shots in the street. This first scene immediately makes us realize that we are mr. How Much I Miss Wu: It’s intense, oddly symbolic (there’s a red balloon floating above that Godlock keeps his eye on), and downright unsettling, with Godlock doing a bit of parkour and ending up impaling several gangbangers through their windshields.
But not all of them: the leader, a really creepy dude (Harold Torres) who we later learn is named Playa (yes, that’s the name), gets out of a car, pulls out his gun, and puts one in Godlock’s throat, apparently to make him bleed. has left During the next few scenes, as Godlock recovers from the brink of death in the hospital, we find out the back story: Godlock and his wife Saya (Catalina Sandino Moreno) are playing with their young son in their front yard when, careened by a gang car, a stray bullet immediately takes the boy’s life. ends
From there, you can guess what happens, mainly because Robert Archer Lynn’s script is derivative, clichéd and predictable as hell: Godlock embarks on a single-minded quest to avenge his son’s death, spending the next year getting in top shape and training to become a As an assassin he zeroes in on Playa and his crew, even for his marriage and perhaps his sanity.
The twist here is that ‘Silent Night’ is really silent: aside from some whispered words from Saya, some police radio transmissions and the odd radio broadcast, there is no dialogue in the film. Godlock has lost his voice, which means no one else can speak. Since film is of course a visual medium, the idea of a dialogue-free scenario is an intriguing one – if it makes sense in terms of plot. ‘Silent Night’ can’t suppress our faith and its own narrative so people don’t talk, Saya texts her husband from the kitchen while he broods next door in the garage – in full view of his wife.
Speaking of poor Saya, she’s also lost a child but Godlock and the film don’t acknowledge that, and Moreno quickly exits stage left half way through the picture. We don’t know how Scott ‘Kid Cudi’ Mescudi feels about his detective character, Dennis Vassell, also reduced to a barely visible supporting player for most of the movie, only emerging as a seemingly important character in the last 10 minutes. Like everyone else, he doesn’t speak, which makes his scenes even more irrelevant to the proceedings.
Much of the movie is devoted to Joel Kinnaman’s Godlock, and the good news is that the actor is fully committed to showing us his pain, grief, shock and rage through his physicality. And he indulges that physicality in several great action sequences, including that opening chase, a brutal fight between Kinnaman and a gang member he holds hostage in his kitchen, and another wild car chase that features striking images of the first thick stream of blood. Then a dead man’s face, slowly melting like a windshield like red ice.
It’s what the problem comes into all that. The revenge narrative is so well-worn that we see right through it, and while we appreciate that it takes Godlock a year to get his act together, the training montage that eats up most of the second act is too long. But Godlock himself is defined by his anger and sadness. He Has Nothing Else: We don’t even know how he supports himself, especially after Saya leaves him. John Woo’s best movies almost always involve two morally conflicted men inadvertently bumping into each other: here, in what is essentially your standard right-wing vigilante fantasy, there is no moral layer. There’s no sense of humor or absurdity, something Wu injected into his earlier films: ‘Silent Night’ feels dead serious.
Gangbangers fares worse, with the film running on just about every racist stereotype you can think of about Mexicans. It is borderline inexcusable. Equally lame is the film’s apocalyptic vision of a modern city (which isn’t named, though all the license plates are from Texas). Godlock is able to run a few hundred yards from his lovely, tree-lined suburban block to a skid row on steroids, which makes us wonder why he bought there in the first place.
Woo delivers some great action, with all the explosive mayhem and flying blood we’ve come to expect from him in the past, and Kinnaman is game for it all. But we have to point out again how silly the lack of dialogue gets — even though a movie like this probably doesn’t miss it that much in the end — and how serious the whole thing is when it could certainly be poking fun at itself.
Joel Kinnaman
We have to hand it to Joel Kinnaman. The Swedish-American actor has been hard at work in Hollywood since 2011, both playing Rick Flagg.Suicide Squad‘Films and Admired Leadership’For all mankind‘A series to replicate Alex Murphy’s vision’robocop‘Remake.
Real stardom has eluded Kinnaman to date, and while ‘Silent Night’ likely won’t change that equation, we have to give the actor credit for a painfully intense performance. Brian Godlock isn’t exactly a multi-dimensional character, but Kinnaman goes all out and convincingly portrays a man on a path of revenge and self-destruction fueled by deep grief – all without saying a word.
That’s hard to do, and Kinnaman pulls it off even if he’s not the most charismatic actor around. He pulls off the action and gunplay convincingly, and while a deep moral conflict and perhaps some humor would welcome his work here, that’s more the fault of the writer, and not of this watchable actor.
Related Article: Joel Kinnaman Talks ‘Silent Night’ and Working With Director John Woo
action
Including classic Hong Kong films likeA beautiful tomorrow,’ ‘The Killer’ and ‘Hard Boiled’ John Woo achieved a balletic, intense, almost poetic approach to violence and gunplay that influenced directors around the world for decades. His up-close-and-personal trademark image of two men closely shooting each other with both hands has been adopted by the likes of franchises such as the John Wick movies.
We’re happy to say that it shows here in ‘Silent Night’, along with his other trademark, slow-motion action scenes, giving this movie Woo’s most distinctive touch. He shoots shattered glass better than anyone, making it look like deadly, frozen, crystal rain. ‘Silent Night’ has several standout sequences: the two gang car chase with Kinnaman on foot at its opening, and the kitchen fight midway through the movie that’s absolutely bone-chilling.
Some of the film’s later action is more generic in nature—how many times we see the protagonist fight his way up a long, winding staircase through endless hordes of roosters—but Wu still shoots it in a more intense fashion than many of his stylistic successors. It may not be Peek Woo, but it’s still a trip to see the master back (no pun intended) in action.
Last thought
As fans of John Woo’s early Hong Kong classics and several of his earlier Hollywood films such as ‘Broken Arrow’ and Camp’s masterpiece ‘Face/Off’, we were looking forward to seeing ‘Silent Night’. We also appreciate the presence and commitment of Joel Kinnaman, a hard-working actor if not quite a movie star. But while we enjoyed some of Wu’s unique techniques and approach to action and violence, the movie’s clichéd storyline and “no dialogue” fancy work wear out their welcome very quickly. The director and his star try their best, but both deserve better.
‘Silent Night’ received 5 out of 10 stars.
What is the plot of ‘Silent Night’?
After losing both his son and his voice to gang violence on Christmas Eve, a grieving, rage-fueled father (Joel Kinnaman) sets out to exact revenge on the men who destroyed his life.
Who is in the cast of ‘Silent Night’?
- Joel Kinnaman (‘Suicide Squad‘) as Brian Godlock
- Scott Mescudi (‘X‘) as Detective Vassell
- Harold Torres (‘memories‘) as playa
- Catalina Sandino Moreno (‘from‘) as I am Godlock
Other Movies Like ‘Silent Night’:
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