Review of Silence (2017) by Cory P — 07 Jun 2017

Silence is a confounding film. It carries such promise. The premise is captivating and carries the potential for great drama and emotional peaks. The characters are offered plenty of moments to show growth and the actors playing them to display the depth and breadth of their abilities. The problem with this film is that it chooses to follow none of this, to highlight none of this, and to instead focus on the least interesting, most frustrating, and weakest characters in the story.

It makes Biblical sense to follow the weakest characters, because the weak and poor are often the receivers of great gifts from God. This film chooses not to share a story of redemption. The pursuit of the weak characters in a story makes sense for the sake of drama, too; yet there oddly feels to be so little drama available in the script.

The film follows the most frustrating characters in the script. These men are the weakest, most selfish, heartless, narcissistic men offered for observation. It's not as if their tale is one of redemption and change; no, they never change.

There are plenty of good men and women portrayed in the film, but the director oddly chooses to show them only in the corner of the film, in the shadows of the lenses. They are always left shallow in their portrayals, minimally mentioned and then literally cast aside. We get depth only in the characters whose further exposure only increases one's distaste.

Yet in all of this there are great opportunities for introspection from the viewer. The movie doesn't seem to be casting any judgement on any of the characters, and only by pursuing certain ones does it seem to be sharing any sort of statement on which is more worthy of our attention. I would posit that the men and women who die for their faith along the way are far more heroic and worthy of our attention than the men who choose to continually deny Jesus and His saints.

I learned much while watching this film. It reignited in me a desire to be more forgiving of others, even when I bristle at their continued failures-I am, after all, a sinner as much as they. The film reminded me of where my strength, focus, and values lay. These men were allowed to live, but they were broken and hollowed out by the ordeal, while the men and women who died for Christ did so in triumph and dignity.

This was a miserable film to watch, but it awakened much in my mind and heart. It was worthwhile, but not in the way one might expect. Viewers should anticipate confusion and discontentment after watching the film, but soon a burning sensation should form in one's mind of what really is important in the world, why one should be living, and to whom one should look for redemption.