MOVIE: A Quiet Place screams quality 

Paul O’Rourke

JOHN Krasinski may be best known as that bloke from the US version of ‘The Office’ and perhaps Emily Blunt’s husband, but is he up to the task of directing a major Hollywood movie?

‘A Quiet Place’ opens in an unoccupied and abandoned supermarket somewhere and sometime in the future. 

A young family quietly search for provisions, careful not to make any noise, communicating with sign language. As they leave the building we see a newspaper blow in the wind, the headline reads, ‘It’s Sound!’. 

The clever premise of this story quickly reveals itself when we realise that Earth is now inhabited by deadly creatures who have evolved with super hearing, and pounce on the slightest pin drop. What follows is a fascinating and gripping look at one family’s struggle to survive in a hostile world where the sole objective is to stay as quiet as possible.

Krasinski stars as Lee Abbott with his real life wife, Emily Blunt, joining him to head up the onscreen household. 

The two parents, along with their three children, are the only real characters in the piece with everyone else presumably victims of their inability to keep schtum or hiding underground out of beastly earshot. 

The alien creatures are suitably monstrous, and when they first strike it will both scare the pants off you and bring a tear to your eye if you’re brave enough to watch. 

The tension is almost unbearable at times but beautifully written, acted and directed, all of which Krasinski can take credit for (yes he only went and wrote the damn thing as well). 

One special ingredient is a genius plot point revealed early on which literally sets off a ticking time bomb that will inevitably go off creating lots of unwanted noise.    

This is a simple yet genius idea, superbly composed, masterfully directed and perfectly cast. 

It’s incredibly tense, unbearably scary, but expertly put together. We’re calling ‘A Quiet Place’ the best movie of the year and award it a review score of five flawless stars. 

Other Releases: ‘Love Simon’ – 3.5 stars