Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast Headliners: Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson, Issey Ogata, Yosuke Kubozuka
Original Release Date(s): December 25th, 2016 (Limited), (Seen in Wide Release January 2017)
Director Martin
Scorsese needs no introduction. The film legend's latest piece,
Silence, could be seen as a bit of a departure from the majority of
his work. Rather than being set among-st 20th / 21st
century North America, it travels farther into the past and farther
away. However there is precendence for this through some of his work
like The Last Temptation of Christ and Kundun. Scorsese has thus a
connection to religion, explored here through an intense lense.
Silence is a film that will stay with the viewer in its power.
The movie is set in
the 17th century. In Japan, Jesuit priest Father
Ferreira(Liam Neeson) has gone missing in a land where Christians and
their priests are being brutally persecuted. In Portugal, Father
Valignano(Ciarin Hinds in a very momentary but alright or so role)
sends the priests and former students of Ferreira in Rodrigues(Andrew
Garfield) and Garupe(Adam Driver) to the East to get him back.
The movie is an
epic, dramatic sweeping tale across locations and settings. Whether
it be in Portugal, China, or of course the vast majority of the rest
of the film in Japan each location is meticulously decorated and shot
to bring the viewer back in time. The costumes, the details, the
ambiance are so effective. Scorsese and his cinematographic team fill
shots with beautiful vistas, mysterious fog, and delicate craft and
moving into huts or villages and cities. This realism makes things
that much more intense in key moments.
So too does the
setting feel alive, as do the supporting cast. Aside from the
protagonists its logically a mainly Japanese cast. And from the main
supporters to random bit players they are great actors for their
parts. There's noble people such as their guide Kichijiro(Yosuke
Kubozuka, adding some of the film's only humorous and well done
bits), or hidden Christians Ichizo(Yoshi Oida) and Mokichi(Shinya
Tsukamoto). There's chilling villains, such as the Inquisitor(Issey
Ogata, a standout evil and charismatic performance) and the
Interpreter(Tadanobu Asano almost equally evil and charismatic). It
makes that some of these characters are not so much named or
detailed, as its a film about the differences between cultures,
languages, and beliefs in part.
The core priest
trio has their own plentiful reasons of benefit. Driver's Garupe is
actually in the film for less than one would think but is an
interesting companion to Garfield's Rodrigues. The writing, for
everyone of course as expected, is well written and deep. The two
characters have different approaches on what to do, and have
different adherence to the faith. One can see a bit of Driver's
now-trademark(thanks Kylo Ren) rage here but he plays someone very
benevolent if determined. Neeson's Ferreira too is not so much
present often but gives a great performance and plays off Garfield
well. Especially as the end approaches their relationship is
impactful.
Once again, just
like the film Hacksaw Ridge from recently, Andrew Garfield's
character and performance is the main highlight. Now here more than
ever, he reaches a new height of dramatic skill and talent. All
characters have believable costumes and accents, but Garfield
especially has a believable emotional journey and character arc. His
commitment to faith, his drive to complete his quest, his sadness and
happiness is all visceral. He has nuance from the deepest religious
rhetoric and seriousness to the even manic insanity. One will feel
for his character, and even understand with sadness what he has to do
and go through. He has come a very long way from Spiderman indeed.
One could not ask for many much better than handling the deep
religious themes of the film.
The film's plot and
narrative flow are epic and fantastic. While there's essentially no
action whatsoever, that does not make things any less exciting or
darkly intense. There's dramatic faceoffs, torture, and plans. Its
perhaps fascinating that for the most part the circumstances(and some
of th characters) were real from history. Perhaps a drawback of the
film is its one of Scorsese's longest ever. At almost 3 hours, it's a
doozy and at parts it can drag a bit with its rhetoric and walking.
But one is never not interested in the drive and excitement of the
overarching plot, or in its character's growth.
It took Scorsese
multiple decades to finally get this film made in his schedule. One
can tell that the wait has paid off in its fine cinematic craft and
indepth story and real location shots. It's a dark, religious epic
that has character struggles that will stay with the viewer
afterwards. Its an emotional tour de force, as one would expect and
want. 8.78 out of 10
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