The production of A Quiet Place: Day One is not about the monsters, really. It’s the noise that menaces. Starting in New York, of all places, one of the noisiest places in the US. I can imagine the world’s largest cities being devoured in a matter of minutes. Singapore, Los Angeles, Chicago; youi get the point right? People, especially large amounts of them are noisy.
They are doomed.
The Story
Samira, who lives in a hospice, goes to New York with her group. They are intending to attend a show and get pizza. During the show, aliens attack and it is now every “man” for “himself.”
She decides that Harlem is her destination. There, Samira will get Patsy’s pizza. She and her cat Frodo take off. Along the way, Sam meets Eric and they team up. He, enthusiastically and she, reluctantly.
They experience a lot of stress and near death along the way.
And they become a team.
The Main Cast
Lupita Nyong’o is Samira, AKA Sam. She is dying.
Joseph Quinn is Eric. He is nervous and scared, but he is trying.
Other Familiar Faces
Djimon Hounsou – is Henri.
Alex Wolff is Reuben.
It just works
The monsters themselves have already been seen prior to ‘Day One.” In this iteration, it is all about the noise and the danger it represents. Sam is already pretty quiet. However, her new partner Eric is all perpetual panic and noise.
Another odd couple pairing that Hollywood seems intent on shoving down our throats. In this case, however, it works. Samira is all about resigned resignation. Eric is trying to survive. First his fear, then his escape.
Frodo just wants to eat and go with whoever feeds him.
Behind the scenes
John Krasinski and director Michael Sarnoski cowrote the story based on characters created by Bryan Woods and Scott Beck. Sarnoski wrote the screenplay. The scenes look “cloverfield” great. This one has almost the same impact as Cloverfield, a 2008 found footage film.
The explosions and the scenes of panic, along with the mass destruction all feel like an alien invasion. Sadly, we already know of the requirement to stay quiet. In that instance there is nothing new here.
Flogging that dead horse
This is, in spite of the great look to the film and a pretty decent script and awesome acting, a ho hum film. It is a “Been there, seen that, got the T-Shirt” type movie. It has been done twice before and, without purposefully trying to sound trite, been done better.
Louder explosions and mass death add nothing to this tale. In terms of suspense, the first two are head and shoulders above ‘Day One.”
However
Nyong’o and Quinn kill their roles. They each knock this one out of the metaphorical park. *On a side note here: Quinn looks disturbingly like a younger Robert Downey Jr. Back when his face was fuller and the drugs were still an issue. If ever they decide to do a bio of RDJ. Quinn should play the actor.*
The Verdict
A Quiet Place: Day One is still a 4 star film. I would give the filmmakers an A for effort alone. The movie delivers a few jumps and a lot of well paced (See Costner? It can be done.) suspense. Kudos to all involved, right down to The Grip and Best Boy.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.