Silo

I just viewed "Silo" a thrilling 75 minute movie about a small town firefighter who is called to save a teenager from being crushed/smothered within a grain silo while working on the farm. I found this to be a brilliant film when it comes to media that is calling out for awareness and change.

The story is well-written with a strong strong ensemble of actors. The characters are introduced quickly but believably and tension starts minutes after the opening scenes. It is a unique and powerful story, and the actors, writers, directors and other members of the production team make these relationships and circumstances highly relatable.

Love the length too! Many filmmakers believe their art is measured in epic lengths...but many times "Brevity is the soul of wit." - Bill Shakespeare.

"SILO" feels more like a documentary than a feature. The actors give very lived-in performances that make the characters seem like people you've known all your lives.

Though the setting is contained (no pun intended), this is the sort of "small" film with big ambitions that we complain "they" never make any more. A deceptively simple, straightforward story that contains the multitudes of the complex characters who live in the vast middle of this country.

Are the relationships between characters a little confusing at first? Yes, and I think that is by design. We the audience are privileged outsiders in this tight-knit world, and the movie isn't going to stop to explain everything on our behalf. How refreshing!

SILO is a well-executed high concept thriller in which a teenage helping hand gets entrapped in a silo full of corn due to an accident and must be rescued as soon as possible, otherwise he will be crushed and suffocate to death.

As a city dweller, I must admit I did not know that grain entrapment was a thing, yet evidently nearly a thousand people have died of it already. So, this movie broadens our horizon by bringing attention to a danger you might not have known about, unless you are familiar with farm life.

But the movie doesn't just stop there: it also broadens our horizon by providing a window into how these small town folk think, talk and act. This is accomplished by means of several tangential plot lines which bring out the characters involved.

The cinematography is beautiful, and the movie is willing to ask deep questions, of which the deepest one turns out to be version of the problem of evil. I liked how the movie gently suggested a possible response without trying to impose it on us.

This is a worthwhile film which especially those will enjoy who know aspects of rural America or are open to learning more about it.

Watched it in Decatur Illinois and couldn't believe how well it moved. Not a soul there pulled out their phone or looked away.

Grain entrapment is a dire, deadly, urgent emergency, as illustrated in various films over the years but most of all documented in real life cases. To build a film based simply on that scenario is a curious notion, but the inherent drama is ripe for storytelling possibilities. 'Silo,' such as it is, is a mixed bag.

In the depiction of the entrapment, and the rescue process, the movie feels in large part like a simple dramatization. We see steps undertaken to save the trapped boy, and the way it all becomes a community effort. Disagreements in how best to go about the procedure reflect a disparity of specific knowledge and lack of communication, elements which are undoubtedly real enough. The central narrative thrust is the strength of 'Silo,' and the movie would have greatly benefited from focusing purely on this aspect.

Unfortunately, that's not what we get. A straightforward, plainspoken story of disaster and rescue would have been compelling, without any need for embellishment. Instead we're also presented with glimpses at the lives of all the characters, back story, and the low-down on their various interpersonal histories and conflicts. 'Silo' could have been a low-key, forthright, human interest thriller, but every bit of extra flair, intended to add greater sense of drama, only waters down what the film could have been. That goes for the score, dialogue, superfluous character writing - almost everything beyond the crucial core.

There's really just not much more to say. I didn't have any particular expectations before watching, yet I find myself somewhat flummoxed. I understand the compulsion, the trend of dressing up a story with the idea of making it ever more dramatic and impactful for audiences. But balance is required, and too many features tip the scale to become overwrought. This is one of them. A far less refined cut of no more than half the final runtime would actually have been twice as absorbing. Sometimes less is more.

'Silo' isn't altogether bad, and I do hope other viewers get more out of it than I did. I just wish film-makers would take time to step back and consider what is truly most essential to the tale they want to tell.