Silent Night (2023) Review

 "..."
-Everyone



A drive-by shooting results in Brian Godlock (Joel Kinnaman) getting shot in the throat and losing his ability to speak as well as his son being killed.  Brian falls into a deep depression, but eventually resolves to kill every member of the gang that killed his son.


What Works:

Joel Kinnaman does a fantastic job in this movie without saying a word.  There is almost no onscreen dialogue in this movie and while that experiment has mixed results, it works for Brian and it actually makes sense.  We're given a good reason Brian doesn't speak.  He was shot in the throat!  Kinnaman manages to say a lot without speaking.  You feel his rage and despair and you totally understand why he goes on his rampage.  It's similar to the Death Wish movies, but much more effective.

The action is pretty awesome.  It's to be expected with John Woo at the helm and he hasn't lost a step.  The action is fun, brutal, and occasionally over-the-top.  Whenever a action sequence is happening, the movie shines.

The emotional elements really work.  This is a sad movie.  It's not a fun film like I thought it would be from the trailer, which is a little disappointing, but the sense of grief and loss is palpable.  Not everyone is going to be a fan of that and it's not how I would have made this movie, but it's obvious that this is what the filmmakers were going for and I want to give them credit for succeeding.


What Sucks:

While I like that Brian is a silent protagonist, having none of the characters speak doesn't really work.  It makes it hard to understand what drives the characters and there isn't any justification for it in the film.  It makes the characters besides Brian feel thin.  The biggest offender is Detective Vassel (Scott Mescudi).  I don't know why he was in the movie.  There's nothing to his character and he adds almost nothing to the story.  

This really feels like two different movies smashed together.  We have a depressing drama about grief and we have an over-the-top deconstruction of action movies.  I like both of these movies, but they don't mix together very well.  Tonally, the movie is a bit of a mess.  The individual parts are greater than the whole.

Finally, since there really isn't any dialogue, the movie has to convey information in other ways and it doesn't do a great job.  We get some handwritten notes that are impossible to read and sometimes it feels like scenes were cut from the film that would have filled in the gaps.  Apparently at one point Brian tries to trigger a war between rival gangs, but I had no idea that's what was happening.


Verdict:

I enjoyed Silent Night in pieces.  Kinnaman is fantastic, the action is awesome, and the emotional elements are powerful, but having no one talk, while interesting, doesn't really work and the tone is a mess.  It's an entertaining film and worth watching, but I think it could have been much better.

 7/10: Good 

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