Silent Night (2023 film)

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Silent Night
Silent Night 2023 poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by John Woo
Written byRobert Archer Lynn
Produced by
  • Christian Mercuri
  • Lori Tilkin deFelice
  • Basil Iwanyk
  • Erica Lee
  • John Woo
Starring
CinematographySharone Meir
Edited by Zach Staenberg
Music by Marco Beltrami
Production
companies
Distributed by Lionsgate
Release date
  • December 1, 2023 (2023-12-01)
Running time
104 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$11.1 million [2] [3]

Silent Night is a 2023 American action thriller film directed by John Woo, and starring Joel Kinnaman, Scott "Kid Cudi" Mescudi, Harold Torres, and Catalina Sandino Moreno. The film, which features minimal spoken dialogue, follows an aggrieved father avenging the death of his son, who was killed by local gang members in a drive-by shooting on Christmas Eve.

Contents

Silent Night was Woo's first American film since Paycheck in 2003. Filming took place in Mexico City from April to May 2022. It was released by Lionsgate in the United States on December 1, 2023, to mixed reviews from critics and only grossed $11 million worldwide.

Plot

Brian Godlock is an electrician living a happy life in the fictional town of Las Palomas, Texas with his wife Saya and young son Taylor Michael. On Christmas Eve in 2021, Brian and Taylor are using a new bicycle on their front lawn. They are caught in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting in the middle of a gang war and Taylor is killed. Brian immediately tries to catch and kill the gangsters only for Playa, the leader of one of the gangs, to shoot him in the throat and leave him for dead. Brian survives, but his vocal cords have been severely damaged. Brian and Saya grieve over Taylor's death and Saya tries to be emotionally supportive to Brian during his physical recovery, but Brian becomes cold and distant, focused only on pursuing revenge for Taylor.

Saya becomes emotionally overwhelmed and leaves Brian, who plans to kill all the gang members involved in Taylor's death on Christmas Eve in 2022. Over the course of the next year, Brian engages in bodybuilding, familiarizing himself with deadly weaponry and self-defense training. At one point, Brian appears to attempt to visit Detective Dennis Vassel, who offered to help in his son's case. Brian instead uses this opportunity to gather information on Playa's gang and begins reconnaissance on them, collecting evidence that will help put them away. Saya attempts to contact Brian, expressing that she and his parents are worried about him, but he continues to ignore her text messages. Brian attacks and abducts a member of Playa's gang, threatening him in an attempt to provide written information on the gang's activity.

The thug briefly manages to escape only for Brian to subdue him in a fight. Brian delivers the bound thug to Vassel's house, along with a Christmas card, containing his intent to kill Playa and his gang, and a thumb drive with the evidence he has collected, along with the thug's written contributions to his information. He also sends two of the thug's amputated fingers to Playa, intimidating him. Brian spends the entire night of Christmas Eve 2022 killing the members of Playa's gang one by one, often interrupting their crimes in the process. After stealing a cell phone from a thug and using it to record a video of himself being killed and sending it to Playa, the gang leader sends a group text for his soldiers to meet him at his place. Brian takes the opportunity to trap and kill them all there.

After a massive gunfight and fistfight bloodbath as he fights his way to Playa, Brian finds himself confronted by Vassel. Initially pointing their guns at one another, both silently put them down and agree to work as a team to finish off Playa. Playa's drug-addicted girlfriend manages to get the drop on them, shooting them both, only for Brian to sneak around and hold her at gunpoint. She drops her gun and feigns surrender. When Brian hesitates to kill her, Playa's girlfriend unveils a hidden sidearm and attacks him with it. Brian manages to kill her and confronts Playa. In the shootout between them, Playa manages to get the upper hand and is about to fatally shoot Brian, but Vassel shoots Playa, allowing Brian to finish him off.

Brian and Vassel fall to the floor and look up at the ceiling and Christmas decorations, bleeding out and dying. Brian sees reflections of his memories of his time with Taylor and hallucinates an alternate future, where he and Taylor are both still alive. Saya opens a letter that Brian wrote to her, where Brian apologizes for how cold he has become in their marriage and thanks her for loving him. Brian further admits that he knows no one can make Taylor's death right, but that he is going to die trying. Saya takes the letter to Taylor's grave, where Brian had earlier brought his previously unopened Christmas present (a toy train set) that he built and set up around his grave.

Cast

Production

In October 2021, Silent Night was first announced as an action film without spoken dialogue, with John Woo as director and Joel Kinnaman as lead star. [4] [5] In March 2022, a special effects assistant was injured during pre-production in a stunt trial run in Mexico City. The crew member was hit by a car, breaking his femur and dislocating his shoulder. [6] In April 2022, Kid Cudi, Harold Torres, and Catalina Sandino Moreno were added to the cast. [7] Principal photography began in April 2022 in Mexico City. [7] Filming wrapped on May 17, 2022. [8] [9] Marco Beltrami composed the film's score. [10]

"The whole movie is without dialogue. It allowed me to use visuals to tell the story, to tell how the character feels. We are using music instead of language. And the movie is all about sight and sound. The budget was a little tight, and the schedule was tight, but it made me change my working style. Usually, for a big movie, a studio movie, we shoot a lot of coverage, then leave it to the cutting room. But in this movie, I tried to combine things without doing any coverage shots. I had to force myself to use a new kind of technique. Some scenes were about two or three pages, but I did it all in one shot".

John Woo (director) [11]

In March 2023, producer Erica Lee confirmed the film features no dialogue, explaining "It really has no dialogue. It was another spec script that I was given and read, and I was like, 'This is either going to be a genius move or a disaster, there's no in between.' It's execution dependent for sure. I mean, John Woo kills it. Joel Kinnaman is the star and really delivers. I mean, there's some ambient noise and background and chatter like radio and stuff like that. But, yeah, it's awesome. I can't wait for you to see it." [12]

Woo decided to film the action in a more realistic manner that supports the emotional drama instead of having the action itself being the entertaining aspect, which was signature of his previous films. [13] For the film, Kinnaman decided to try method acting for the first time and stop speaking for the entirety of the shoot. The lack of communication left the actor feeling lonely, and after multiple start attempts, he decided that the silent car ride to his first day on set was long enough to get him excited for the film. [14]

Release

In September 2023, it was announced that Lionsgate had acquired the distribution rights for the film. The film was theatrically released on December 1, 2023. [15]

Home media

Silent Night was released for digital platforms on December 19, 2023, followed by a Blu-ray, DVD and 4K UHD release on January 30, 2024. [16]

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé , Godzilla Minus One , and The Shift , and was originally projected to gross $6–8 million from 1,870 theatres in its opening weekend. [17] After making $1 million on its first day (including $250,000 from Thursday night previews), estimates were lowered to $2–3 million. It went on to debut to $3 million, finishing ninth. [18]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 59% of 120 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.7/10.The website's consensus reads: "Silent Night reaffirms that an action movie doesn't need much dialogue if the set pieces are solid enough—and that even second-tier John Woo can be worth the price of admission." [19] Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 53 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. [20] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it a 67% overall positive score, with 38% saying they would definitely recommend the film. [18]

David Ehrlich of IndieWire panned the film, grading it a "D" and stating that "the kindest thing I can say about [John Woo's] latest film[...] is that its worst moments don't resemble the cinema of John Woo at all". [21] Kyle Smith of The Wall Street Journal criticized the decision to have no dialogue in the film, stating that the result is "surprisingly dull". [22]

Peter Debruge of Variety wrote, "Silly as it might be, Silent Night gives audiences reason to get excited about the Hong Kong innovator once again, ranking as one of the few bloody Christmas counterprogrammers since Die Hard that feels worthy of repeat viewing down the road". [23] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "It's to Woo's and screenwriter Robert Lynn's credit, as well the fiercely commanding, intensely physical performance by Kinnaman, that the film's lack of dialogue proves not a gimmick but an asset. Norma Desmond would surely have approved". He noted the film's highlight was "not one of many lavishly staged gun battles, but an intensely brutal, lengthy hand-to-hand combat between Brian and one of Playa's minions that makes the classic fight scene in Hitchcock's Torn Curtain seem like a schoolyard tussle". [24]

Glenn Kenny of The New York Times praised the film for its well-crafted and brutal action scenes, stating that "there’s a lot of sound and fury and it works: This is suspenseful and cathartic, and even the schmaltzy stuff is so distinctly John Woo that it’s welcome." [25] Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave the film a score of four out of four stars, considering it to be among the best films directed by Woo and "one of the most deliriously cinematic movies of the year". He emphasized that with Woo's bold yet elegant editing style, "[t]he cliches of the action/revenge movie ultimately stop seeming merely familiar and begin to feel ritualistic", and stated, "Movies like this don't work unless the people who made them aren't afraid to risk going too far[....] Sometimes, if they keep pushing and pushing, they overcome any supposed rational objections the viewer might have, and there's a breakthrough. The floodgates open, and the feeling that pours forth is magnificent, rare, and sublime". [26]

In 2024, film critic Scout Tafoya, a colleague of Seitz on RogerEbert.com, included Silent Night in his video series "The Unloved", where he expressed disappointment in how "very few people seemed willing to engage with the visual language of the movie." He reasoned that "Woo relied purely on his chops as an imagemaker to tell the story of Silent Night, an admittedly simplistic, perhaps too contemporary story of revenge modelled on the more popular, retrograde version of action cinema from the last 20 years." Tafoya summarized that "As a work of incredibly intelligent visuals, of storytelling without a spoken word, this is a triumph. And as a John Woo film it's an instant classic to rank among his best..." [27]

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References

  1. ↑ "One Paper". Lionsgate Publicity . Archived from the original on October 23, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Silent Night — Financial Information". The Numbers . Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Silent Night (2023)". Box Office Mojo . IMDb . Retrieved January 3, 2024. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  4. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 29, 2021). "John Woo Returns To Direct Joel Kinnaman In No-Dialogue Action Film Silent Night – AFM". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on October 30, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  5. ↑ Scheck, Frank (November 27, 2023). "'Silent Night' Review: Joel Kinnaman in John Woo's Gripping Hollywood Comeback". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 27, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  6. ↑ Cordero, Rosy; D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 21, 2022). "Special Effects Assistant Injured During Pre-Production Stunt Trial On John Woo's Silent Night". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  7. 1 2 Galuppo, Mia (April 4, 2022). "Kid Cudi Joins John Woo Action Thriller Silent Night". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  8. ↑ Luchies, Adam (May 17, 2022). "Silent Night Wraps Filming on Joel Kinnaman-Led Action Thriller from John Woo". Collider . Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  9. ↑ Horst, Carole (May 17, 2022). "Joel Kinnaman Stars in John Woo Action Film Silent Night". Variety . Archived from the original on October 20, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Marco Beltrami Scoring John Woo's 'Silent Night'". Film Music Reporter. January 2, 2023. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  11. ↑ Ebiri, Bilge (July 3, 2023). "'My Films Had So Much Anger'". Vulture . Archived from the original on October 3, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  12. ↑ Massoto, Erick (March 27, 2023). "'John Wick 4' Producer Erica Lee on John Woo's 'Silent Night's Lack of Dialogue & When We Might Get the First Trailer". Collider . Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  13. ↑ Davids, Brian (December 1, 2023). "Silent Night Director John Woo Explains Why He's Dialed Back His Signature Action Style". The Hollywood Reporter . Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on December 1, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  14. ↑ Thomas, Carly (November 24, 2023). "Joel Kinnaman Says He Tried Not Speaking for Two Months While Filming Silent Night". The Hollywood Reporter . Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on November 24, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  15. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 22, 2023). "John Woo's First American Pic In 20 Years, 'Silent Night', Sets December Release". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on October 3, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Silent Night (2023)". www.dvdsreleasedates.com. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  17. ↑ Rubin, Rebecca (November 29, 2023). "Box Office: Beyoncé's Renaissance Takes on 'Hunger Games' Prequel With Estimated $20 Million Debut". Variety . Archived from the original on December 1, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
  18. 1 2 "'Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé' $22M Opening Irreplaceable For Sleepy Early December Weekend; Fuels $95M+ Frame Best Post 2018 – Update". www.deadline.com. December 3, 2023. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Silent Night". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved June 26, 2024. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  20. ↑ "Silent Night". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  21. ↑ Ehrlich, David (November 27, 2023). "Silent Night Review: John Woo's Dialogue-Free Xmas Movie Is an Unholy Misfire". IndieWire . Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  22. ↑ Smith, Kyle (November 30, 2023). "'Silent Night' Review: John Woo's Wordless, Witless Thriller". The Wall Street Journal . Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  23. ↑ Debruge, Peter (November 27, 2023). "Silent Night Review: John Woo Lets Guns Do the Talking in Tight Dialogue-Free Revenge Thriller". Variety . Archived from the original on November 27, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  24. ↑ Scheck, Frank (November 27, 2023). "Silent Night Review: Joel Kinnaman in John Woo's Gripping Hollywood Comeback". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on November 27, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  25. ↑ Kenny, Glenn (November 30, 2023). "'Silent Night' Review: On the First Day of Christmas, Kill". The New York Times . Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  26. ↑ Seitz, Matt Zoller (December 1, 2023). "Silent Night movie review and film summary (2023)". RogerEbert.com . Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  27. ↑ Tafoya, Scout (February 1, 2024). "The Unloved, Part 122: Silent Night". RogerEbert.com . Ebert Digital LLC. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
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