A good film for lovers of silence

Rating: 8/10 (11 May 2018)

In our modern western society, silence is undervalued. It seems as if it has no right to exist. Everywhere you go, there are sounds. In shopping malls, background music is played through hidden speakers. On a beach or in a park, people carry portable radios. Car stereos accompany our travels. Runners carry music players with small earpods, in order not to be exposed to silence.
'A Quiet Place' is a good film for lovers of silence, like me. Large parts of the film have no sound at all. To be clear: it is not an ode to silence. On the contrary. The silence is involuntary. The characters are silent because they can get killed by alien creatures when they make even the slightest sound.
This may sound as a weird concept. But it is very effective in creating lots of suspense. The family in the film has to be permanently on alert. The slightest error, like dropping an object, can cost them their lives. This is shown very effectively in the first few minutes of the film.
This very intense first scene creates the mood for the rest of the film. We see how the family copes with the silence: by using sign language, by walking barefoot over a layer of soft sand, by retreating to a waterfall where the sound of falling water is so loud that the aliens don't hear human voices.
The forced silence is a great concept for a suspense thriller, just like the racism theme was for 'Get Out'. The screenplay makes good use of the concept, and the actors do a good job. The only minor flaw are some inconsistencies in the story, which can spoil a bit of the fun if you're sensitive for it. On the other hand, this film is not about the consistency of the story, but about the fear of being killed by making a sound. It's meant to make your heart rate go up, not to analyze every story detail. In such a film, some degree of inconsistency is always inevitable.
'A Quiet Place' is original, exciting and well made. That's all it takes for a good film.