Starring: Joel Kinnaman, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Scott Mescudi, Harold Torres
Distributor: Rialto Distribution
Runtime: 102 mins. Reviewed in Dec 2023
Reviewer: Fr Peter Malone msc
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A grieving father enacts his long-awaited revenge against a ruthless gang on Christmas Eve.
Movie buffs will have great memories of Hong Kong director John Woo. He was prolific in the 1970s, coming to greater attention with his crime thrillers, violent action and stylish filmmaking in the 1980s, making his mark in the US in the 1990s, especially with Face/Off, moving then to a range of films but many focusing on Chinese history.
Now he is back in the US (though filming in Mexico with a Hispanic team), very much as we used to appreciate him but this time with a great difference. Titled Silent Night, the Christmas Carol does play in the early part of the film as well as, ironically, and more forcibly in the violent climax. However, Woo puts the emphasis on silent. We hear only four words throughout the film (and, unfortunately/realistically, the perennial four letters) – but there are all the sound effects and some muted musical score. This is something of a tour de force as audiences gradually realise they are not going to hear word spoken, but, as in the old silent days, communication is by facial expression and, strongly, by body language.
Though Woo turned 76 while filming Silent Night, he does not seem to have lost any of his verve, especially in staging chases, shootouts, martial arts training, violent fights and spectacular climaxes.
The action focuses on Brian (Kinnaman). We see him running at first, desperate, looking at a red balloon, hurrying down streets, encountering two cars and a shootout, finally cornered, a tattooed criminal confronting him, shooting him in the throat. But, he survives, unable to speak.
While this must have been a great challenge to Kinnaman and his acting skills, he is completely convincing as he recuperates. We see the tensions with his loving wife and her leaving him, the introduction of flashbacks to his playing with his young son and the tragic revelation of what happened.
But, this is a revenge drama. Brian goes into vigilante action, audiences sympathetic to the calling to justice the criminals but also wondering about the destructive effect on the psyche and moral behaviour of a man out for vengeance. On his calendar, he marks Christmas Eve 2022 as the day of vengeance, the anniversary of the death of his son. And, for months, we see him training – using video programs to practise martial arts, buying weapons, as well as buying and fortifying a car.
Apart from the criminals, the other main character is a detective, played by Scott Mescudi (in no way of relying on his musical identity, Kid Scudi).
As mentioned, Woo has not lost his pace, and this is particularly so in the violent and ultimately fiery climax, high body count, choreographed fights, and Brian turning into something like a human Robocop (and then this reviewer suddenly remembering that in the remake of Robocop, Robocop was indeed played by Kinnaman).
Obviously, a film for the fans rather than for audiences who shun the sight of blood (in close-up early in the film during the throat surgery).
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