Hello everyone!
I recently had the misfortune of watching a British film that's been out for a while now, released in 2021.
In the English version, it's called Silent Night ('Tis the Night Before), and I'm dealing with a specific genre that's tough to evaluate objectively since I'm not a huge fan of movies like this apocalyptic black comedy.
The screenplay was written and directed by the film's director, Camilla Griffin.
The film features
Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Roman Griffin Davis, Annabelle Wallis, Lily-Rose Depp, Sope Dirisu, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Lucy Punch, Rufus Jones, and David Bradley
Silent Night. 'Tis the Night Before (2021, film)The movie clocks in at just 1 hour and 32 minutes, but to me, it felt long and dragged on, and I was also put off by the constant profanity, especially from the kids – if that's the kind of humor they're going for, it's not my cup of tea, and it was completely unnecessary in the film!
Silent Night. 'Tis the Night Before (2021, film)🎬PLOT (no spoilers):
Every year, married couple Nell (Keira Knightley) and Simon (Matthew Goode) host a festive dinner at their place, inviting their former school friends and their significant others to join in the holiday cheer.
Silent Night. 'Tis the Night Before (2021, film)But this Christmas, which brought everyone together, is special – everyone's supposed to come dressed to the nines, everyone's supposed to forgive each other's grudges, and the kids are allowed to swear!
Silent Night. A Quiet Night (2020, film) But it's not that simple, and the reason is that a massive toxic gas cloud is heading straight for them, killing people in a slow and agonizing death.
Silent Night. A Quiet Night (2020, film) So, the British government has issued a pill to every resident (except for homeless people and illegals) that they can take to quietly die without suffering.It's ironic that this gas cloud is supposed to appear on Christmas night right above Nell and Simon's house, and there's no escape, so the whole crew decides to celebrate Christmas and take the pills together to die peacefully.
Silent Night. A Quiet Night (2020, film) The pills are meant to be taken by the kids too, but
Silent Night. A Quiet Night (2020, film) not everyone in this crew is on board with that idea...
Silent Night. A Quiet Night (2020, film) My takeaways:
I didn't find this film to be a black comedy. There were hardly any jokes, and the ones that were there were flat and often accompanied by profanity, especially from the kids. I didn't find it funny at all.
The dialogue was pretty cringeworthy until the second part, which had some dramatic elements. At least there, I could hear something with a bit more depth.
Silent Night. A weird party to die at. Honestly, I was baffled by the whole idea of the party where you're going to die in a few hours. I can barely imagine what I'd want to do on my last night with a bunch of friends, some of whom I don't even like. And to make things worse, it turns out that one of them slept with someone else's spouse.
Silent Night. A weird party to die at. The director chose some pretty unusual couples, like a lesbian pair consisting of a white and a black woman,
Silent Night. A weird party to die at. a couple where the black husband is much older than his young and pregnant wife,
Silent Night. A weird party to die at. The actors were all big names, but it was super boring to watch them because of the weird script. The whole movie is like a rollercoaster of emotions - they're arguing, then laughing, then crying, with completely unrelated dialogue. The only meaningful dialogue came from a little boy, who was basically asking if you want to die painlessly, believing the government and news, or try to fight for your life and die when it's your time.
Silent Night. A Christmas Carol (2020, film) The only one who really stood out to me - and that's not always a good thing - is Roman Griffin Davis (Arthur, Nell and Simon's eldest son). Sometimes he nailed it, and sometimes his dialogue was cringeworthy.
Script.
I'm a huge fan of apocalyptic themes, but this one fell flat. Where's the apocalypse?
And don't even get me started on the glaring plot holes throughout the entire film. Like, if the entire country has taken pills and is committing mass suicide, where's the water, food, electricity, heat, working phones, open stores, and TV?
There are no marauders, no gangs, no one trying to escape or survive. It's just weird.
Silent Night. A Christmas Carol (2020, film)Finale.The finale was a bit unexpected, but I figured it out about ten minutes in.
Watching an hour and a half for a surprise ending just isn't worth it. Time is precious, after all.
Silent Night. A Christmas Carol (2020, film) ✅ Verdict:
This film has no humor, neither black nor white. The jokes are flat, the language is coarse, and they threw in minorities, illegals, and the government for good measure.
Instead of solving problems, people just take a pill from the government (three times, no less) and kill themselves like sheep to the slaughter.
And this group of characters is just something else.
Silent Night. Тихая ночь (2020, фильм) I get what the director was trying to say, but the way they presented it was just a waste of time! I wouldn't recommend this
⭐⭐
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✅What I liked about the movie:
The conceptGriffin Davis's performance✅What I didn't like:
No humor, no apocalypseBad actingThe scriptThe dialoguexa0
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Thanks for sticking with me until the end! I'm glad I could be helpful!
Enjoy your viewing and have a great day! ❤❤