Review of Silence (2017) by John C — 23 Jan 2017

Silence is a slow yet meaningful epic told by one of the best, Martin Scorsese.

It is about people, who against all odds, and all punishment, continue to keep faith in Japan, a place where being Christian isn't taking lightly and the "silence" being gods silence to the faithful. Andrew Garfield is magnificent in his role as a Christian missionary, as his character slowly is broken down by the things he witnesses and the people he meets. The movie is a long one with a running time of 161 minutes, but every minute counted. Every scene, every character Father Rodrigues (Garfield) meets in his quest to find Father Ferreira (Neeson) is important to the story and the ultimate ending, I can't think of something that should be taken out. I think that one big surprise in this movie is Kichijiro played by Yosuke Kubozuka. I won't say much (as I think you should watch it for yourself) but I wasn't ready for him and yet he might've been my favorite person in the tale. Someone out there who is contemplating seeing this movie might be worried about it being too "preachy" but it is not. It gives both sides (Japanese and Christians) the ability to make their arguments but at the same time a lot of this movie it is not what is being said but what happens that is used to build the experience. If I had to name one thing that I wasn't a fan of it would be the fact that at the top of the credits there are three big names, Andrew Garfield, Liam Neeson, and Adam Driver; in the movie Andrew Garfield easily steals the show as the other two names get very little screen time for a movie with the run time it has. Adam Driver's character was, I felt, underutilized and the film had potential to be a two-person story between him and Garfield. Neeson also gets little screen time for what it's worth but at least he makes the most of it. I understand it is based off a book which I haven't read but still, LIAM NEESON. There is also not much character backstory to go around for either of the missionaries but then again, there isn't much of a need for it. Silence is a very long, brooding, and slow story don't get me wrong, and most certainly isn't for casual moviegoers who go to see only blockbusters and saw the man who directed Wolf of Wall Street directed this one thinking I'll probably like it, but if you are willing to give up some time of your life to watch a powerful story and fantastic acting give this one a shot.