A Quiet Place is a film unlike any before because its center character is sound. Since the protagonists live in a quiet world, there aren’t layers of airplanes flying, loud Foley footsteps or a radio in the background. There are only footsteps on sand, the mouthing of their words and the rub of their hands when they communicate. The characters figure out that louder sounds cover up small sounds, so the father (John Krasinski) built a firework contraption that becomes necessary to their survival. The audience becomes completely immersed in their world because of the film’s sound design.
In the distant future, creatures invade Earth and hunt anything that makes a sound. One family has adapted to that way of life by walking barefoot on sand, playing board games with felt pieces, and speaking in sign language. The family moves into their barn to create less sound. They try to live as normally as they can, but with the impeding birth of another child, they have to prepare in a different way. The mother (Emily Blunt) creates a sound proof crib with an oxygen flow and a mobile made of felt.
One child is deaf and her perspective is occasionally shown through the use of absolute silence. The only sound she hears is the quiet hum of her cochlear implant, letting the audience experience the world through her eyes. She looks at her family’s reactions to know when she’s made a sound that is too loud. After spending time in this fully immersive world, the first jump scare shocks the viewer as much as the family.
The film begins after the aliens invade so no backstory is provided. The only information the audience gets is through the newspaper cut-outs tacked around the father’s work station. There are delicate glimpses into their old life when the mother goes into their old noisy home and looks at picture frames on the wall. Around this time, her water breaks. Blunt’s acting during the bathtub birth scene as an alien climbs the stairs is one of the highlights of the film’s stellar performances.
Despite its marketing as a horror film, the movie is about family and the sacrifices family makes. This family comes together to fight off the aliens that invade their home and the audience gets to experience see the intense preparation the father has gone through for a time in need. After getting separated from their children, the mother asks “who are we if we can’t protect them?” Each character is motivated by protecting each other while being as quiet as possible.
Georgia Micheals is the Media Content Producer of District. She is a junior Film and Television major who will graduate in 2020.
