Silent Night (2023)

​“Silent Night” stars Joel Kinnaman, Scott Mescudi, Harold Torres, and Catalina Sandino Moreno. Released on December 1, 2023, the film has a father avenging his young son’s death on Christmas Eve.

The film was directed by John Woo, who also directed films such as “The Dragon Tamers”, “A Better Tomorrow”, “Face/Off”, and “Paycheck”. Celebrating the holidays means spending time with the family peacefully without worrying about the stupidity and chaos spreading across the country. Unfortunately, the people who spoil the festivities for everyone don’t get the memo. If getting a lump of coal or getting mauled by Santa Claus isn’t enough to punish the holiday-ruining grinches this season, Hollywood has come up with something else that can: a father whose actions literally speak louder than words. The first weekend of the Christmas season is spreading holiday joy for us adults as we got another R-rated Christmas film that's hoping to become the next holiday movie tradition for teens and grownups. This latest action thriller sees the return of John Woo, who’s been absent from the American film business for two decades. He’s still active in directing movies during that time, but only for his home country. Now, he’s returned to the United States to give us an early Christmas gift that would leave his fans speechless. Let’s jump into the action and see if it proves that silence is golden.

The story follows Brian Godluck (Kinnaman), a loving family man and electrician living with his wife, Saya (Moreno), and their young son in California. Unfortunately, their lives suddenly changed when a horrid act of violence between two gangs occurred right by their house. As a result, Brian’s son was tragically killed in the crossfire, and his injury left him without a voice. With vengeance his top priority, a heartbroken Brian attempts to avenge his son on Christmas Eve by getting even with the gang, including the leader Playa (Torres), while being tailed by Detective Dennis Vassel (Mescudi).  

I’m not exactly a massive follower of John Woo’s works. In fact, the only movie from him I’ve ever watched in my life was “Mission: Impossible 2”. That movie didn’t get as much love as the other installments, but I thought it was a decent installment in the recently popular spy series. It’s not as groundbreaking as its recent sequels, but it’s entertaining regardless. All I knew from that film was that Woo is another filmmaker who brings pizazz in his stylized presentation, slow-motion shots, and action scenes. So this makes “Silent Night” the second movie from Woo I’ve watched. Was it my right choice to experience the director’s signature style again? Well, yes and no. It isn’t without a few admirable moments to maintain my interest in its concept, but it’s far from a perfect gift that keeps on giving.

The main draw of “Silent Night” isn’t just the set pieces and John Woo’s direction. It’s the “silent” part. This is another movie that doesn’t feature any dialogue from the characters. There were a few instances that had ambient noise and background chatter, but aside from that, the movie allows the characters to speak with their actions instead of their words. It’s another case of telling a story through visuals, music, and the character’s actions, which I always find fascinating. In this case, “Silent Night” depicts a tale of revenge and grief, in which Brian struggles with the loss of his son, who’s seen as the light in his soul. When his son is taken away by gang violence, it signifies the light fading away from Brian’s body, leaving him broken and obsessed with revenge. It’s what you’d expect from a revenge thriller involving an ordinary person taking extreme measures, which doesn’t surprise me at all, considering how popular the genre is. It may not have done anything with its formulaic script to make it stand out from the rest. However, the efforts to provide an emotional connection for its characters amid the action were surprisingly solid.

Woo may be known for providing style in the action sequences, but his approach to drama is something that I would also admire, even though it’s far from outstanding. Through his stylized transitions, close-up maneuvers, and slow-motion shots, Woo displayed the dialogue-free drama as a ballet. The scenes involving the characters communicating through their actions and facial expressions are graceful without missing a single step. Again, it’s not groundbreaking or anything, but the effort was there, which is enough to forgive its pacing in the first act. But what about the action scenes, you ask? Well, I can admit that I was mildly impressed with how they looked. They’re stylistically diverting and brutally entertaining due to Woo’s direction and editing. Were they enough to leave an everlasting impact? Surprisingly, no. The action lost plenty of steam in the second half, and some of the movie’s CGI effects were pretty ugly. Thankfully, they didn’t detract from the film’s attention-grabbing style completely.

With the film having no dialogue, the cast had to provide physical performances to compensate for the lack of speech. “Silent Night” is one of the films showcasing that the art of acting doesn’t just come from speech delivery. It also comes from the actions and expressions told through the actors’ faces and body movements. If they provide something captivating with those physical expressions without speaking a single word, that means they succeed in making me care for the silent characters. Fortunately, that’s what the cast in “Silent Night” accomplished, mainly Joel Kinnaman. Kinnaman was mesmerizing as a father without a voice, showcasing the physical pain and trauma he endured with sheer intensity and dread. Scott Mescudi and Catalina Sandino Moreno were also impressive in their performances as Detective Dennis Vassel and Saya, respectively. Besides that, the movie is basically the Joel Kinnaman show, and it is a compelling watch despite the execution being hit-and-miss.

Overall, “Silent Night” basks in the glory of adult-rated violence and dialogue-free scenarios, but it offers little to nothing else in its holiday-themed killing spree besides those elements. Regarding the action scenes, John Woo still proves himself capable of delivering slick, entertaining, and stylistic presentations, which should satisfy many, if not all, of the director’s fans. Additionally, Joel Kinnaman is still a talented actor whose physical performance helped drive some of the film’s emotional beats. Unfortunately, they’re not enough to overcome its familiar narrative, which lost its creative steam halfway through. Along with a couple of pacing issues and rough CGI effects, the film is a welcoming return to Hollywood for John Woo that falls short of being more than what is offered. Regardless, I enjoyed watching it, and I think action fans would feel the same way about Woo’s early holiday gift.

C+