Camille Griffin's first full length feature starts out as a cheery bit of holiday fun then rips away the veil to unleash one of the better dark comedies of 2021. As her freshman non-short effort, she scores big with a timely story of doom and gloom that capitalizes on a dynamic cast that's in excellent form all around.
During the ongoing pandemic, one thing has been made certainly clear. The topic of human kind's demise on film has been amplified via cinema and art. It's a coping mechanism. With numerous movies taking a long hard look at the global health crisis and many maintaining an artful position on the subject matter, this weekend's release of Silent Night offers another insight into the end of mankind with a toiling and bleak comedic outlook on our mortal fears. When a roving toxic cloud is threatening to destroy our entire planetary existence, a family joins together for Christmas at their estate to celebrate the holiday one final time and to put a nail in their time on earth.
The resulting run time is one that uses similar tones to Lars von Trier's 2011 end of the world drama, Melancholia. Despite the brooding undertones of certain death, there's a backbone to the story that revels in strong characters that have little to no development. We're just comfortable enough with these people because they hold the same varied traits we all experience with our very own families. All aspects of modern life are represented with Silent Night. This honestly makes the film feel blatantly repetitious or inline with other Christmas movies where everyone checks their bags at the door before dinner but instills enough of a dynamic that the originality eventually shines through.
With very little build up or back story, we're thrown into a desperate situation that sees both the best and worst of all involved. If anything, death is certain and we see how people may react when faced with their own mortality and the choices they made need to make in their final moments. Taking cues from other end of the world dramas, Silent Night is one that you might not want to watch for the holiday spirit. There's a lot of death here and definitely some harsh moments of despair and desperation.
Led by an amazing cast that features Kiera Knightley and Matthew Goode taking charge of the primary roles here, they're backed by Lily-Rose Depp (who steals the show), Lucy Punch, Annabelle Wallis, Sope Dirisu and several others in a movie that's both captivating and utterly depressing even in its finest moments of humor. There's a certain edge that director Camille Griffin rides the entire length of the film. She astutely understands the bond between parent and child and the way we may slip into protection mode in the most dire of situations. Her script is whip smart as she rings in the upcoming Christmas film season with a cold and calculated horror comedy that certainly won't please many audience members.
At the core of Silent Night is a dry but whip smart dialogue that's reliant on the interplay between the family members and a talented cast of supporting child players that features Roman Griffin Davis (JoJo Rabbit) in another demanding role. He (again) rises to the occasion and whole handedly walks away with all his scenes, outplaying all the more experienced adult actors. His delivery of lines is just spot on and has an understanding of on screen emotion well beyond his years.
If you want to be depressed and want to add a bit of darkness to your holiday that features a LOT of death and discussion, check this one out.
-CG
