The Day That Silenced the World

Joseph Quinn and Lupita Nyong'o in
"A Quiet Place: Day One"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

In writer-director John Krasinski’s 2021 film, “A Quiet Place: Part 2,” the terrific sequel to his original movie from three years before that, he gave one of the film’s best scenes with the opening sequence, a scene that takes place before the events of the first film.  In this scene, Krasinski delivered a pulse-pounding view into the first day of an invasion by aliens who hunt by sound as they descended upon the quiet town of his character’s family.  It couldn’t have been a better beginning to a film that would be on par with the frights of its predecessor.

We now get an even bigger view into the start of the invasion with the prequel, “A Quiet Place: Day One,” from writer-director Michael Sarnoski, in which he delivers a film of surprising emotional depth in between the scares and thrills.

The story follows Samira (Lupita Nyong’o) as she tries to traverse New York City when it descends into chaos following an alien invasion.

Nyong’o provides an endearing performance as a young woman who tries to cling to what’s left of her previous life.  Portraying a hospice patient caught in NYC during a day trip, she has her character muster every remaining bit of energy in her body to survive the apocalypse and return to her childhood neighborhood before her time runs out.  In between the scenes of running for cover, Nyong’o gives us memorable emotional scenes, and whether it be in scenes of no dialogue or with a little, she’s endlessly engaging to watch.  As you watch her go between processing the terror and reminiscing about what her life was like before she got sick, Nyong’o absorbs you in Samira’s arc as she not only as to survive the external threat of the aliens, but the internal threat of her illness, both of which collide to have her confront her mortality.

Nyong’o also has poignant chemistry with costar Joseph Quinn, who plays Eric, a law school student from England.  While they work well together in the sequences that hinge on their fight for survival, there’s a bittersweet scene in the third act that may be one of the best scenes this series has done.  All I’ll say is that it’s a poignant scene that does beautiful work with show-don’t-tell storytelling that allows these characters reveal small things about themselves.  These films show how much a blockbuster horror movie can thrive when you include some doses of human drama, and Nyong’o and Quinn have just as strong of an on-screen connection as the pairings of Krasinski and Blunt in the first film and Blunt and Cillian Murphy in the second.

Although the screenplay by Sarnoski is, in essence, more of the same as the first two films but just on a larger canvas, he makes up for the familiarity by making this the most emotionally impactful of the series.  In between the scenes of alien horror, he offers some wonderful dramatic scenes that really let us get to know Samira and Eric.  While we’ve seen characters in the past stay quiet for fear of being picked off by the aliens, Sarnoski uses this as an opportunity as a way to display who these characters were before the invasions as they try to open up to each other while still trying to remain as quiet as possible.

The cinematography by Pat Scola, who worked with Sarnosksi on his 2021 feature filmmaking debut for the revenge thriller, “Pig,” offers some imagery that goes between tenderness and somberness that allows for touches of the arthouse sensibility that we saw in Sarnoski’s previous film.  And, when it comes to the big set-pieces, Scola grants us imposing views of NYC besieged by otherworldly destruction, taking full advantage of the transition from the rural environments of the first two films to the cityscape offered by this one, capturing a sense of scale that shows the aftermath on a higher level.

As a director, Sarnoski proves that he’s every bit as capable to helm a blockbuster as much as an indie film.  Similar to “Pig,” he strikes a fine balance between effective drama and heart-pounding thrills.  Three movies in, and this series still exhibits that it can maintain its quality and thrive when it allows filmmakers to craft something that’s meaningful.  These movies are partially character-driven, with this film even more so, and Sarnoski is able to make the drama fit in just right with the surrounding sci-fi dread as he expands the overall story of the series.

Potentially, Krasinski’s coming back next year with a third film focused on the original batch of characters.  But, during that wait, it was fun to have an installment that shows someone else’s approach to the material.  With that, Sarnoski makes his voice heard in this quiet place.

Grade: A-