The Silent Hour

"The Silent Hour" is a thrilling auditory adventure that plunges us into a world of silence and suspense. Joel Kinnaman's portrayal of a deaf detective, forced to rely on his instincts and a deaf witness, is a masterclass in understated intensity. The film's sound design is a character in itself, creating a palpable sense of isolation and tension. While the plot may be predictable at times, the film's unique premise and strong performances elevate it above the ordinary. "The Silent Hour" is a must-watch for fans of suspenseful thrillers and a testament to the power of storytelling without words.

Set in Boston, 11 months after suffering massive head trauma in the line of duty, Homicide Detective Frank Shaw (Joel Kinnaman) is struggling to adapt to his life with reduced hearing necessitating the usage of hearing aids and the prospect that within a year's time or less he may lose his hearing completely. An off duty Shaw is approached by his former partner Detective Doug Slater (Mark Strong) who is investigating the murder of two drug pushers and with the Department's interpreter unavailable, Slater enlists Shaw's help in interviewing deaf witness Ava Fremont (Sandra Mae Frank) as Shaw has been taking American Sign Language classes at the behest of his daughter Sam (Katrina Lupi). Shaw reluctantly accompanies Slater to a dilapidated apartment complex with only a few stray tenants as the owner is in the process of evicting the former tenants in favor of condos where the two confirm she has a video of the murder and take her official statement. As Shaw makes his way home, he realizes he left his phone at Ava's apartment prompting him to return where he finds Ava under attack by a team of corrupt cops who intend to stage her as an overdose and Shaw manages to save Ava briefly lose the cops. Without a gun or a phone, Shaw and Ava play a dangerous game of cat and mouse navigating the dilapidated apartment complex in search of either escape or help.

The Silent Hour is the latest from genre director Brad Anderson and is being released on VOD via Paramount's Republic Pictures label. Written by first time credited writer Dan Hall, the AGC Studios produced thriller on paper seems like the kind of film you often associate with VOD releases, modestly budgeted genre pieces that in this theatrical climate are considered "too small" for theaters and more often than not feature lower tier actors like Mel Gibson or Aaron Eckhart. I'm pleased to say that The Silent Hour is actually quite an entertaining experience, even if I attribute that more to the direction and acting than the script itself.

At its core, The Silent Hour is a mash-up of Die Hard by way of 16 Blocks with the added gimmick of hearing impairment of our two leads. While the genre side of things covers standard "protecting a witness" territory from the likes of Clint Eastwood's The Gauntlet or the minor 50s film-noir classic The Narrow Margin, it helps that Brad Anderson is in the director's chair because if you look at his filmography he excels in confined character based thrillers (Transiberian, The Machinist, Session 9, etc.) and not only brings out the best in good material, but can even make more middling material engaging like 2019's Fractured. The Silent Hour's script really doesn't do anything wrong but it's very much a standard genre template and while the gimmick of deafness is there it's not used as memorably as something like Mike Flanagan's Hush or The Quiet Place films used it and when it's used it's usually more for dramatic moments between our leads Joel Kinnaman and Sandra Mae Frank (who is deaf in real life) who are really good in the movie and have some good insights on people who were born deaf versus those who became deaf where Frank signs the line "a single missing piece doesn't make you less whole". The rest of the cast do well playing their roles such as Mekhi Phifer and Mark Strong, even if the familiar script doesn't leave them a lot of standout moments but they're servicable for what's required of them.

The Silent Hour is the definition of "solid rental" as it has an intriguing high concept while not quite having that extra layer of polish to the script that would demand it be shown theatrically. Thanks to a strong pair of leads in Kinnaman and Frank and the tight reliable direction of Brad Anderson, the Silent Hour makes for a quick, effective, and mostly entertaining 90 minutes.

That 139 mins went quickly. Fantastic suspense movie.

Enjoy this as pure entertainment and forget and remember it's just a movie and you'll enjoy it.

A police officer that is going deaf quickly as a result of a work accident must defend a deaf lady as the bad guys take them hostage in an empty building. Time is ticking and who does one trust? With no hearing the two must communicate with their other senses and outwit the intruders.

The main actress who is deaf in real life is brilliant and I'm looking forward in seeing her past movies and following her future. The whole acting/ behind the scenes team build a great thriller filled with suspense and drama.

One of the baddies ( you have to wonder ) how he got that far as a criminal.

A couple of minor plot holes, predictable in parts however does what a thriller movie should do and that's to enjoy.

Just to add the sound team did amazing job with sound dropping where it should and shouldn't and echoing for the deaf characters.

Well done.

Seeing Kinnaman among the cast was enough to make the decision to watch this movie. He did not disappoint, brought his A game, as usual, and did a more than decent job with the character and script he was given.

All in all this was not the movie of the century, as a matter of fact it would be hard to call it even the movie of the year. But quite honestly, looking at the poster and reading the film's summary, I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting here, and the movie delivered exactly that. It was a story built on a well known, well used and overused formula, with a little twist (the good guys having hearing issues), and that's about it. I did not expect it to be incredibly original, and it wasn't. I expected it to have a few memorable moments, and it did have a few (the protagonist "acquiring" his hearing problem for one). I expected to see a few tired cliches, and they sure were right were you'd think they'd be. And in general, I expected to be entertained for a bit, and I was. The story had a good pace, the runtime was filled with actual action, not pointless fillers. No forced romantic plot lines/sex scenes, no overlong buildup of the starting situation, no monologues and cheesy emotions etc. Just a coherent story that held my interest and kept me engaged.

I wouldn't think that I would feel like re watching it anytime soon, or put it on my all-time-favourites list, but it filled an evening just fine. And with today's abundance of absolutely awful movies, that was just enough.

In Boston, homicide detective Frank Shaw (Joel Kinnaman) is chasing a criminal when he is hit by a car. He has a sensible hearing loss and eleven months later, his doctor tells him that he will become deaf in a few months. While the devastated Frank is drinking in a bar, his former partner and now narcotics detective Doug Slater (Mark Strong) asks Frank to help him in an investigation. He needs to interview Ava Fremont (Sandra Mae Frank), a deaf witness to the murder of a drug dealer, but the ASL translator is on vacation and not available for one month. Frank goes with Doug to Ava's apartment in an almost empty residence building and they learn that the residents have been evicted since the owner wants to renovate the building to rent the apartments for a higher class. Frank learns that Ava is a former drug addicted and finds Narcan in her bathroom cabinet. Ava delivers her cellphone to Doug with the footage of the murder, and they leave her place. While driving back home, Frank notes that he has forgotten his cellphone at Ava's apartment. He returns to her home and finds that a group of men led by the black Lynch (Mekhi Phifer) is hunting her down. Soon he learns that Lynch and the other men are corrupt cops that want to simulate an overdose in Ava to kill her. Further, Ava is not drug addicted and used drugs only when her grandmother died, and she was depressed. Now their only hope is to find a telephone and contact Doug Slater to save them.

"The Silent Hour" (2024) is an engaging and claustrophobic thriller with a cat and mouse game story. Joel Kinnaman performs the role of an honest police detective that is involved in the attempt to murder a witness by dirty cops. Sandra Mae Frank is deaf in real life and is comfortable in the role of the smart deaf witness that is saved by Frank Shaw. The plot is predictable and flaws when Ava discharges the pistol retrieved by Frank on the window, leaving them without a weapon again. Despite the flaws, this film is highly entertaining. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Not Available"