Review of Silence (2016) by Tyler C — 21 Feb 2017

Silence is the newest offering from Martin Scorsese. At a purposefully punishing three hour run time, it is as far from "entertainment" as Scorsese has ever gone.

In his last movie, The Wolf of Wall Street, the similarly long run time flew by. That film moved at to an electric beat, covering years and years of story in what seemed like moments. Silence is a different experience entirely. The run time is so slow it's agonizing. As the characters suffer, so does the audience. Scorsese is not interested in keeping the viewer entertained here. He wants you to feel the slow, meditative pain of the priests in the prisons of their captors and minds.

So basically, Silence isn't for everyone. Sitting through it is an arduous task, but a rewarding one. The film gracefully juggles some important and thought provoking themes. But the themes are heavy, and portrayed in a way that is often difficult to witness.

So be warned-- Silence is hard to watch. But it's important to see. Scorsese is in full command of his craft here, and has offered us something truly fascinating in its difficulty.