Silent Night (2021)
The apocalypse is happening... and everyone knows when. Nothing can be done to stop it. In preparation for the event, the government has provided citizens with Exit Pills, to avoid suffering when it does occur. Nell (Keira Knightley) and Simon (Matthew Goode) have a happy marriage and three sons. They decide they don't want to face this alone, so they invite their group of long-time friends to join them at a house in the countryside to have one last hurrah and see each other one last time before they accept the end by taking their pills. Everyone seems to be in relatively high spirits, and much drinking ensures. But not surprisingly, loose tongues reveal long-kept secrets, straining even the best of relationships as this group of friends waits for the apocalypse to occur. And one of Nell and Simon's sons, Art (Roman Griffin Davis) questions what the adults are doing.
I found this a very thought-provoking film, and one that it isn't impossible to envision. If not this
particular scenario, then something similar. Like Art, I had so many questions about what was going on and how the adults were responding. This is the perfect what-would-I-do movie as you imagine yourself in their shows and think about how you would react to what is going on. Yes, there are some secrets revealed that might have/should have been kept to the grave, but some people just can't hold their liquor. It's also about love and shared history and togetherness. It's well acted, especially Knightley and Goode. I am a huge fan of Goode, which is how I became interested in watching this when I accidentally ran across it while looking up the other series, the Silent Night, Deadly Night series. Similar name, totally different. Also, you might remember seeing the boy who plays Art in JoJo Rabbit, which is a very interesting film.
My only real complaint, and a minor one at that, is something I found their accents difficult to understand, but if anyone is concerned about that, you can always turn on close captioning. I didn't, and I was fine with it. Like I said, this film gives you a lot to think about, and unlike a lot of horror films, it is a believable scenario. I'll give this film 4.5 Stars.
Lake Mungo
Alice Palmer (Talia Zucker) is only 16 when she drowns. Her parents, June (Rosie Traynor) and Russell (David Pledger) are grief-stricken, wanting to know why this happened, as is her brother Matthew (Martin Sharpe). But after her death, strange things start to happen, and the figure of the late girl begins appearing in new photographs.
The search for understanding what happened leads to the discovery of things about Alice her family didn't realize, that she led a secret double life.
To be honest, this film didn't do it for me, although I've seen a number of good reviews for it. They talk about grief and how to deal with it, but that wasn't the kind of ghost story I was expecting, so maybe that's why I wasn't impressed. I kind of lost interest early on but kept going anyway. If this sort of thing interests, give it a try, just wasn't for me. I'll give this film 2 Stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment