Director: Robin Pront
Distributor: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Duration: 93 minutes
The Silencing (Blu-ray) – Movie Review
Universal dropped a fair amount of DVD and Blu-ray releases in October and we were quite lucky to review a few of them. This time we dive into the woods with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, a grieving father mourning for his missing child. Five years have passed, but a new lead surfaces and it seems that he will finally learn the fate of his long-lost daughter. We were curious to see if this thriller had a happy ending or not.
The movie revolves around Rayburn (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), a washed-up drunk, who is currently managing a wildlife sanctuary. He has been doing this since his daughter went missing years ago. He went from being a hunter to someone who tries to preserve animal lives. He does get a bit of new energy when the body of a young girl is discovered. He immediately asks the local sheriff, Gustafson (Annabelle Wallis), if he is allowed to see the body, as it might potentially be his daughter that they stumbled upon. Luckily it isn’t, but things turn foul quite quickly when he discovers a strange man hunting a young girl in his sanctuary. All while this unfolds Gustafson is preoccupied with protecting her delinquent brother.
In terms of flow, the movie just hits the right notes. While things may move a bit slow at times, the proper spread of information alternated with action scenes make the entire experience very suspenseful. In the beginning, you’ll have to make do with very little information, which actually helps the overall experience. You get everything you need at the appropriate times, and from there on out it’s always an exciting ride until the next piece of the puzzle falls into place. Arguably the ending could have used a bit more clearing up, but other than that everything feels spot on.
The Silencing is basically just a duet between Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who plays Rayburn, the washed-up hunter who now runs an animal sanctuary. His character is very broody since the disappearance of his daughter, and he hasn’t bettered himself after said tragic event. While he runs the sanctuary as best as he can, he still finds himself wasting away on the sofa when he’s not doing so. An almost equally depressing character is played by Annabelle Wallis, who plays sheriff Gustafson. She has had a proper education away from the hillbilly place she now calls home (again). Sadly, she now finds herself taking care of her delinquent brother, trying to get some meaning out of her life. Overall these character summaries may not tell you anything about the overall acting qualities, but these two cast members play perfect opposites that clearly have to work together at a certain point. The overall chemistry is clearly noticeable and it does grace the movie.
Sadly, as atmospheric and interesting as this Blu-ray rendition of The Silencing may be, it comes with only one special feature. After watching the main feature, you can enjoy a 15-minute making-of extra that highlights certain aspects of the creative process. To be honest, even though the ending may be a bit open, all the rest is properly explained and doesn’t require any further information. There weren’t that many noticeable special effects used either.
Conclusion
The Silencing is actually a surprisingly nice thriller that shows the acting capabilities of Nikolaj Coster-Waldau outside of Game of Thrones or his original Danish setting. The movie was actually perfect length as many tend to drag out experiences such as this making them too long-winded and dull. This is an ideal movie to relax, dim the lights and then notice you’re sitting at the edge of your seat following whatever unfolds next.
The Silencing (Blu-ray) - Movie Review,
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