Despite the fact that Asian directors and Western actors (or vice versa) do not seem to always get along very well, at least in terms of the results of their collaborations, the effort to achieve a result that will finally work seems to continue perpetually. As such, it is with great joy to state that John Woo definitely succeeded this time, by including almost every fan-favorite action movie element in the book, in a title that also signals a return to form for the HK veteran.
Silent Night is screening at Red Sea Film Festival
The paper-thin, ultra-cliched script begins with a man chasing after two cars of opposing gang members, who are just shooting at each other while speeding on the narrow streets of what seems to be an almost dystopian US setting. The result, however, is him getting shot in the throat (among other parts) and rushed to the hospital, where the doctors manage to save him, but not his voice. After a long recuperation, with his wife always on his side, he returns home, where it is revealed that the reason for him chasing the gang members was because a stray bullet killed his kid son. Godlock expectedly succumbs into depression and the bottle, until he decides that revenge is a much better path. Thus begins a rigorous training time that has him learning to wrestle, using knives and guns as weapons and driving a car like a stuntman. When he is happy with the results, he unleashes his wrath on his enemies, and particularly the man who shot him, the vicious leader of the gang, Playa.
Regarding the review of “Silent Night” it would be interesting to see which part of the 80s and 90s gritty action films John Woo incorporated in his film and even more so, the way he combined them with each other, and even the way he implemented them in a fashion that essentially reinvigorates them. For example, Stallone and Schwarzenegger in their films like “Cobra” or “Commando” spoke very little, but Woo has his protagonist here not being able to utter a single word. The approach could even be perceived as ironic, but actually works excellently, particularly because Joel Kinnaman is great in portraying his character's hate, resolve, angst and despair in the most eloquent fashion, even without uttering a word.
The stylized approach to the action, which will remind of Fuqua's “The Replacement Killers” (where Chow Yun-fat also plays his part in almost silent fashion btw) is quite intense too, and in collaboration with the loud industrial music, results in a series of scenes that point toward music videos, in the most entertaining fashion. A dancing scene, which is part of a violent montage close to the end, definitely winks towards Johnnie To, as do the occasionally ultraviolent fights, which can actually be “attributed” to Woo's own movies from the 80s and 90s. The climbing the stairs towards the Boss will definitely remind of “The Raid”, while the car chases, with the added “attraction” of the simultaneous gunfights, the torturing, the involvement of a cop, the Deus-ex-Machina and the fact that the protagonist does not seem to die, all point towards the classics of the category.
How John Woo combines them? Through Zach Staenberg's frantic editing that allows for all the aforementioned, and the few dramatic, relieving moments to fit in just 104 minutes, in a film that actually feels much briefer. The polished cinematography by DP Sharone Meir is also responsible for the impressive atmosphere, as much as the dystopian-like setting the story takes place in. Lastly, Harold Torres as Playa makes for a great villain, with him stealing the show even despite the fact that his screen time is highly restricted
Not much more to say, in an era that everything has to be socially relevant, politically-correct, and with intense underlying context, “Silent Night” is a a film that just offers an audiovisual extravaganza filled with the most entertaining fanservice, in a blast from the past that actually feels reinvigorating.
