Review of A Quiet Place: Day One

I loved this movie. It is one of four movies in the Quiet Place series. The other movies are A Quiet Place, A Quiet Place Part II and A Quiet Place Part III. The last movie in the series, Part III, has not yet been released. It is due to come out in 2027. As I watched A Quiet Place: Day One I had no sense that I was missing anything. It is complete in itself.

The genre for the movie is horror/science fiction, but it’s more about character than it is about horror or science fiction. It is one of the most character driven movies I have seen in a long time.

The first scene introduces us to a young woman, Sam (Samira). She is sitting in a group therapy session. We learn almost immediately that the participants are cancer patients, and we learn that Sam is dying. She is a strong, intelligent personality and she has accepted with a kind of sardonic humor that she has already lived beyond her predicted lifespan.

Sam has a cat, and Sam likes pizza. These become critical elements in the plot, as critical as Sam’s cancer diagnosis and the catastrophe that is about to befall New York City. A compelling hint about that catastrophe is offered in the first shot, as the movie opens. We are informed, by text that appears across a wide shot of the city, that New York City operates at a noise level of 90 decibels... “the level of a constant scream”.

This movie is carefully plotted. It is organized and intelligent. Everything that happens after the early scenes follows from what we already know. Although Sam is dying and has accepted that in a flat, not entirely resigned manner (during the therapy session she reads a poem entitled “This Place is Shit”), there is plenty of room for character growth. An existential catastrophe offers the opportunity for that growth.

Sam is persuaded to go to the city for a day trip with her hospice group because her group leader, Reuben, has promised her they will stop for pizza. She is sitting on the bus with her cat, ready to go back to the hospital, when the catastrophe hits. Aliens are dropping from the sky. There are explosions everywhere. People are screaming, running, and dying. Sam finds shelter, is reunited with Reuben—and her cat.

One more bit of information is essential to the plot: There must be absolute quiet, because, although the aliens are blind (and apparently are not gifted with a strong sense of smell) their hearing is acute. Anytime there is noise, the aliens attack.

The remainder of the film follows Sam, as she struggles to go uptown and get the pizza she has been promised. This is her driving motivation in the film, the one thing that keeps her going no matter what happens around her. She is, after all, living with a death sentence. She knows that sentence can come at any time, from her illness. She doesn’t want to die before she gets her piece of pizza. It is her quest, and it offers the opportunity for her to realize the extent of her strength and her perseverance. Within the space of her journey across town, Sam evolves.

Throughout her journey, there is Frodo, the cat. This cat has an unerring ability to find Sam and reunite with her whenever they are separated. The cat offers the relief (not exactly comic relief) in a drama of great intensity, and tragedy.

Here’s a clip that says a little bit about the character, Frodo (the cat):

There are other characters in the film—most especially Reuben, the group leader, and Eric, whom Sam meets because Frodo brings him to her.

Eric is terrified. He is a law student from England and he is totally disoriented. He clings to Sam. She does not want this. He needs to go downtown, with the other evacuees, she tells him, and she needs to go uptown, for pizza.

Eric offers another opportunity for Sam to grow, because he is so terrified and he is unable to fend for himself.

Together this improbable trio—a dying cancer patient, a lost law student, and an intrepid cat—head uptown, in search of pizza.

This is a remarkable film. I didn’t know until the very end if Eric, Sam or Frodo would survive. I certainly am not going to reveal that bit of information here. I will tell you that the alien invasion is the catalyst the two humans needed in order to find their best selves. The cat was fine from the start and stayed that way.

This series of ‘Quiet’ films is a blockbuster moneymaker. The first three movies made a combined 900m box office. I’m sure everyone who watched the first three movies is waiting for the last installment, Part III, so that will make a bundle also.

For fans of The Office it might be interesting to know that John Krazinski, who played Jim Halpert in the show, had a hand in all three of the movies produced so far. He starred in some, was given credit as writer for some, and also directed some.

Often when I watch a streaming movie, I will skip ahead because so much of it seems like filler. I just want to know how it ends. Or, sometimes, I don’t want to suffer with the protagonist. Never for one moment did I think of skipping ahead in this film. Every scene, every moment adds to the plot. Even though there is violence all around, it wasn’t so intense that I felt I had to move on.

As I said at the beginning of my review, this is great movie. It is one I will probably watch again.

I streamed it on Netflix

Here are some basic facts, from IMDB:

(All the actors were wonderful, but Lupita Nyong'o as Samira was a standout. She carries the movie.)

Starring:
Lupita Nyong'o as Samira

Joseph Quinn as Eric

Alex Wolff
Reuben
Director: Michael Sarnoski

Writers
Michael Sarnoski, screenplay
John Krasinski, story
Michael Sarnoski, story
Bryan Woods, characters created by
Scott Beck, characters created by

Thank you for reading my blog. Peace and health to all. Hive on!