The Silencing

Everything about this movie is "okay". The story, the characters, etc. are all okay. None of it is bad. But none of it is fantastic either. It does the bare minimum a good movie should do. Good acting. Good writing. Good pacing. Good filming. Good editing. From a technical, movie 101 perspective, everything is textbook and it doesn't make any huge mistakes.

However, where the movie prevents itself from being very good, is in the following two things:

1. Ruins one very good opportunity and turns it into a pointless plot device. Midway through, a discovery is made which raises the stakes tremendously. From that point, the film could have done something very good. But in the end it's rendered useless as the plot jumps onto something else. And the villain emerges with very unconvincing motive.

2. It's a carbon-copy of a much better movie called Wind River (2017). I couldn't help but notice the similar look/feel within the first few minutes. The setting, the music and how the story opens was very similar. And much to my disappointment, the borrowing of ideas didn't stop there. The rest of the movie is practically the same. So if I could recommend one thing, is to go and watch the that other movie (Wind River) instead. Wind River is everything that this movie wishes it could be. In every department, that movie is fantastic.

The story really moves along in the first two-thirds of the film, and the direction is not too shabby. However, the end is a let-down, and you certainly feel like you missed out. However, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau does a great job, as do most of the cast.

First of all comparing this to Wind River is not a useful critique. Wind River addresses the high rate at which Indigenous Women in North America/Canada go missing around exploratory mining sites.

This movie was a look at individuals who are flawed and who eek out their own idea of justice, to exact revenge or protect others. It's not a box office hit but it is underrated.

After 20 mins I forgot all about Jamie Lannister and Grace Shelby.

I recommend watching, if you enjoy story telling and can put away preconceptions.

Decent directing, excellent cinematography, but the writing needed more "oomph" and a more cohesive plot with less plot holes and technical issues. A good watch, but nothing spectacular. Would've been better as a short film, as the 93 min runtime with the slow pacing made this film feel much longer.

'The Silencing' had all the things I love in a film. It had unexpected moments sprinkled throughout, a lead character I liked and wanted to be alright in the end, a whodunnit element and some twists. What more could you ask for from a thriller? This was the type of movie that was coming out every week back in the 90s, and they were all great, yet these days you're lucky if you get one every couple of months and they're not usually as good as they used to be. So when I come across one as well done as this film was it is a rare treat.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau from 'Game of Thrones' plays the lead role, and he was a remarkably good lead-man. Not only is he naturally likeable but he is also very easy to sympathise with. His character has had something awful happen to him and so he has become an alcohol and can be quite unpleasant to his ex-wife's husband for example. Sometimes these characters can be very hard to get onboard with if they're played by the wrong actor, but in this case I was happy to look past his flaws and get on-side with him.

As mentioned earlier I really like a good whodunnit. They're incredibly out of fashion these days unfortunately, but 'The Silencing' is a great reminder of how well they can work in cinema. I really enjoyed this movie and would highly recommend people give it a watch.