From action director John Woo comes a movie with a killer concept that isn’t quite as killer in reality. Silent Night boasts solid action scenes and features a fiery performance by Joel Kinnaman, but its near silent premise–no words are spoken throughout the movie–doesn’t fully work.
Early on, we’re introduced to Godlock (Kinnaman), who is shot through the neck by a ruthless gangster after a horrible tragedy. In this first act, Woo directs a convincing tale of a distraught father learning how to fight in preparation for vengeance. It’s a powerful stretch, with Kinnaman conveying immense non-verbal emotion throughout; it’s not an easy performance, and he nails it.
After a while, you start itching for shit to hit the fan, and it does. Woo gives us several intense and violent action sequences; they’re well staged and choreographed. And yet, for a movie where the action is the primary selling point, there’s something that feels slight about it all. As good as the action is, Silent Night never elicits much excitement; I hoped to find myself leaning in and holding my breath, but it simply doesn’t happen.
The “silent film” gimmick is sort of fun, but after a while it does become just that: a gimmick. Silent Night isn’t actually silent–it has sound effects and a soundtrack–but its devotion to no dialogue leaves the whole experience feeling a bit flat.
Silent Night has enough to like, but any thoughts of love must remain unspoken.
Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.