Year of Release: 2024
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Starring: Lupita Nyongo, Joseph Quinn, Alex Wolff, Djimon Hounsou, Eliane Umuhire, Takunda Khumalo, Ronnie Le Drew, Benjamin Wong, Michael Roberts
Genre: Sci-Fi, Drama
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on Amazon
Synopsis and Review
Writer/director Michael Sarnovski made a name for himself with his feature directorial debut, "Pig", which was met with great reviews and showcased another wonderful Nicolas Cage performance. His sophomore directorial output is now part of a known series, the "A Quiet Place" franchise, which for some reason has become a commodity, when in fact the first feature never really need a sequel to begin with. The narrative focuses on a woman by the name of Samira, a terminally ill cancer patient, who lives at a hospice outside of New York City, with her cat. She lets herself get convinced to come to the city by Reuben one of the nurses. The plan is for all of them to watch a theatrical performance, and afterwards get some pizza. While in the city they suddenly witness what appears to be a meteor shower in the skies, only for the city to suddenly become invaded by alien creatures who respond to noise, and kill everyone in sight. The survivors, including Samira, hear announcements from the military telling people to stay silent and hidden until authorities are able to rescue them. Reuben is soon killed, and Samira decides to leave for Harlem with her cat. All the while people are moving towards an evacuation point located on South Street Seaport. Samira soon finds herself with Eric, an English law student, who followed her cat and who looks to her for help. As they try to make their way to Harlem, Eric learns more about Samira, all the while the creatures are getting closer and closer.
The "A Quiet Place" franchise is honestly one that puzzles, since all that it needed to tell from a narrative perspective was indeed covered in the first film. The fact that this is a second sequel, or even a prequel with different characters, is all the more surprising, or a testament on how very little can indeed go a long way. Michael Sarnoski thankfully understands that this property is in fact a B-movie with some decent budget, and therefore manages to create a film that is more about the creation of tension, than gratuitously showcasing alien creatures (though they do appear sparingly). John Krasinski's original film smartly construed the narrative around a nuclear family who had learnt to deal with this threat, whereas in this case, we are introduced to two characters who are at very different journeys of their lives, and suddenly are confronted with an extraordinary threat, and having to depend of each other for survival. Sadly the script doesn't provide much depth towards these characters, but Michael Sarnoski makes the best of the interactions between Samira and Eric, and their journey towards what is a possible escape for him, and a peaceful epilogue for her. The script for this film does eventually run out of gas, since none of the characters has been properly developed, as well as their Odyssey is very much a limited one, but while this limited scope is illustrated, the film does manage to keep one's attention focused. The cast is solid, starting with the underrated Lupita Nyongo, who always elevates all the material she works with, and who benefits from solid support from Joseph Quinn and Alex Wolff. The production team is solid, including Pat Scola's cinematography, Simon Bowles' production design, and Alexis Grapsas' score. It's watchable, but also quite forgettable.
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