Silent Night: Movie Review

Cast: Joel Kinnaman, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Kid Cudi

Director: John Woo

It would take a cinematic simpleton to bet against the outcome of Silent Night, a revenge movie about a man seeking justice after his son is accidentally killed by a stray gang member's bullet in suburbia.

With its trademark John Woo slow-mo shots and extreme violence in parts, Silent Night has all the hallmarks of an 80s revenge thriller. But what marks Silent Night out is its use of sound from its mute protagonist. It's less a film, more an extended tease with the heightened anticipation of a showdown.

Beginning with a slowed down shot of a Christmas-jumpered Godlock (Kinnaman) chasing after the cars who wreaked havoc on his domestic bliss, Silent Night ends with a shock as the protagonist is shot in the throat rendering him mute.

It's a clever touch that instantly rids most of the movie of the usual cliched trappings of revenge movie dialogue (which, let's face it, is never the most nuanced) and frees the film to concentrate on its physicality instead. 

As a result, Kinnaman's thrust into the spotlight in various training montages, some close quarter combat and some frustrated reflections on life snatched brutally away. But the film is more a balletic dance through depression and destruction as tightly choreographed fight scenes propel the film along.

Its soundscapes and OST do much of the heavy lifting, but fight sequences feel real, painful and carry an unusual emotional heft.

Just occasionally, there's the feeling the concept is creaking under the atmospheric execution, but given the novelty factor helping to kick some ass when needed, Silent Night provides some welcome escapism from the usual action movie fare to concentrate more on their emotional devastation wrought by grief, loss and revenge.