Review of Silence (2017) by Greg D — 13 Jan 2017

For those who know me know that Martin Scorsese is my all time favourite director. His films are the backbone to my love of movies and I always anticipate his new releases. So to finally get to see his long gestating (28 year) project come to fruition on the big screen is a sight to see... And a bit of a struggle. What is essentially The Revenant of belief, Silence is one of Scorsese's most personal projects where his grasp and doubts of faith are put to test visually through the true life narrative of jesuit priests within Japan. Much like Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver, I am full of conflict and doubt as to whether I think this film holds up and whether I truly like it or not. Throughout the film through all the torture, healing and faith in practice you witness; I personally never felt emotionally engaged with what I saw on screen. I was never once bored as the story and narrative did truly interest me and I was curious upon the outcome and thematic resolution. However it never truly hooked me or made me feel compassionate to the cause of the priests nor the plight of the christian Japanese. Having said that performances from all were outstanding where Adam Driver and Andrew Garfield truly look weary to the point of unhealthy all for the devotion of their characters and their inner struggle. There is a peculiar conflict within the film itself technically. Cinematography goes from the divine to the dull seamlessly, pacing is clunky while runtime is 20 minutes too long and the sound design sadly is clipped and rather poor with all things considered.

Multiple viewings may peel back the layers of this, at first, heavy handed passion project to reveal a deeper meaning and engagement personally from me, but for the average cinema goer, I can see this being a slog. With all that being said, Martin Scorsese on a bad day is still better than your favourite director on a good day so ba-boom *mic drop*.