A Quiet Place: Day One. A Review

A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE

I never imagined that A Quiet Place would somehow create its own universe. I have not seen as of this writing A Quiet Place II, so I cannot say whether the prequel A Quiet Place: Day One fits into the narrative. I thought of whether A Quiet Place: Day One stood on its own separate from this accidental franchise. On the whole, A Quiet Place: Day One tells its origin story effectively and efficiently. 

Hospice care patient Sam (Lupita Nyong'o) reluctantly goes into Manhattan with her beloved comfort cat Frodo, the promise of a theater performance followed by her favorite pizza too hard to resist. The hospice care nurse Reuben (Alex Woolf) does not exactly lie to her about the theater performance but does not mention that it is a marionette show. Afterwards, they observe meteors falling onto the streets. Determined to get her promised pizza, Sam initially won't leave but soon everyone rushes when creatures appear while the meteors start creating chaos.

Sam eventually comes to with others hiding in the theater, Reuben included. She learns that sound attracts the aliens, so everyone must be quiet or as quiet as possible. She observes more attacks and Reuben's shocking end, with only another survivor, Henri (Djimon Hounsou) to protect those hiding in the theater. Sam opts to follow the government's advice to go to waiting ships to flee but another attack causes her and Frodo to separate. She does manage to steer two children to safety but now she is trapped.

Also trapped is shell-shocked Eric (Joseph Quinn), a British law student who finds Frodo and later Sam. She reluctantly joins forces with Eric to attempt to escape New York, though not with difficulties made harder by the pain of her illness without pain medication. Will they survive to get to the waiting ships? Will Sam get her pizza?

One of the best qualities in A Quiet Place: Day One is that is has a brief running time of a little over an hour and forty minutes. As such, it never lingers long on situations that might have dragged it down. That is not to say that perhaps A Quiet Place: Day One might not have benefitted from a bit more cutting (such as in having Eric and Sam take more time at Sam's apartment or the pizza hunt). However, that is not a dealbreaker here.

A Quiet Place: Day One knows when to stay and when to go, keeping things flowing relatively well. Even if brief moments, the screenplay by director Michael Sarnoski (from a story by him and original A Quiet Place star/director John Krasinski) manages to have moments of both tension and character development. There is when Sam comes upon the two children who have taken shelter underneath a fountain (the creatures unable to hear voices masked by the flowing water). We see the danger everyone is in, coupled with Sam's genuine concern for these innocent kids.

Essentially, A Quiet Place: Day One is split between Sam & Reuben and Sam & Eric, as if she needs someone to counter her. Each part works well in showing her rapport with these two men. The parts with both come across as authentic: a sarcastic but caring association with the former, a mutual need to survive with the latter. 

The film builds up tension as to whether certain characters will survive, though in one part it seems a bit ludicrous how one of the characters dies. In what is meant to be a tense moment, a giant generator starts being loud. It is shut down, but then a minor rip of clothing is enough to have the creature take that person out. It seems a bit curious why the creature could hear something so soft but not go into full attack mode with something so loud.

It is, as a side note, interesting how A Quiet Place: Day One has faint echoes of September 11, 2001, in the look of both a destroyed Manhattan and the dust and debris on character's faces. I do not know if it was intentional, but it for me added a level of haunting to the film.

Many of the actors were called upon to act with their faces, and it is a credit to both Sarnoski and the actors that they communicated so much with looks and their eyes. Nyong'o does an exceptional job as Sam, a woman who finds a late surge to fight to live despite being close to death. She is the person with whom we are supposed to identify with, our guide into this hellish world. She shows us her mix of sorrow, horror, quiet joy and finally peaceful acceptance mostly through her face. Nyong'o does have moments where she speaks, and she is able to convince the viewer that Sam is caring if a bit cynical.

Wolff is simply unrecognizable as Reuben, a generally quiet character who does his job the best he can. He cares for his patients but is also not above a little deception to get his way. Hounsou has a limited role, appearing for probably less than ten minutes overall near the beginning and briefly at the end. Nevertheless, he manages to hold your attention as Henri, the de facto leader of these survivors. Quinn does good work too as Eric, bumbling, terrified, in need of anyone to be around. He and Nyong'o work well together, balancing each other with her leading him, albeit reluctantly and with no enthusiasm.

A Quiet Place: Day One also knows how to use moments of tension and moments of stillness. A scene where Sam is trapped is built up to create effective tension. Eric timing the thunder to make needed noise is also well-done. As a side note, there is a scene outside a bookstore between Sam and Eric that I found funny. The bookstore's name is Argyle Bookstore, and while I figure it is not a nod to Argylle, I still chuckled. 

A Quiet Place: Day One balances horror and heart. At times perhaps a bit illogical (the generator scene still puzzles me), the film still gives viewers the horror they want to see with some strong characters to care about. On the whole, A Quiet Place: Day One works both as a prequel and its own film separate from the previous A Quiet Place films. 

DECISION: B-