It’s Christmas Eve, and Brian Godlock (Joel Kinnaman) and his wife Saya (Catalina Sandino Moreno) are playing outside their Texas home with their 7-year-old son Taylor (Alex Briseño) when two rival gang members speed by, guns blazing at one another. Taylor is killed by a stray bullet, and Brian is wounded badly in his neck, and left unable to speak. After a month recovering in the hospital, Brian returns home, to the scene of the crime for the first time. The grief is overwhelming, and he turns to alcohol to dull the pain, as his marriage starts to fall apart.
Finally, 3 months later, Brian has an epiphany, and decides to stop feeling sorry for himself and do something about the situation. He heads off to visit Det. Dennis Vassel (Scott Mescudi) of the LPPD Gang Enforcement Unit, but when he gets there and sees the wall full of wanted posters for gang members, including Playa (Harold Torres)—the man responsible for his son’s death and his own injuries—he decides to take matters into his own hands. He marks December 24 on his calendar—the 1-year anniversary of his son’s death—with the words “Kill Them All”. Since the cops aren’t getting anything done, he plans to take down the entire gang single-handedly. He immediately begins his preparation and training. He starts to work out, watches assault-training videos, practices at the gun range, reinforces his car with steel plates and practices some aggressive driving techniques, purchases weapons, and starts to gather intel on the members and inner-workings of the GI-7 gang, counting down the days to when he will get vengeance for his son. Though, as much as he has prepared for his one-man vigilante effort, going up against a massive criminal organization like this is bound to have a few unexpected surprises.
Silent Night comes from legendary action director John Woo. While the film does contain many of his signature style elements, such as slow motion and a scene with a flapping bird, it also feels like something very unique and new. Living up to its Silent name, the film pretty much has no dialogue. There is the occasional radio broadcast to help establish the date and passage of time, and Brian listens to a police scanner to hear about the gang activity, but other than that, the film is pretty much just grunts or very muffled speaking. In general, the camera movements are slow, precise, and smooth, and are accompanied by a beautiful, emotional score, allowing the viewer to feel and experience the thoughts of the characters without using dialogue. There are some faster cuts in some of the later action sequences, but since this is a film that doesn’t have dialogue, there’s no need for the constant back and forth coverage shots of two people talking, so there is more of a natural flow. This one-shot like flow can be seen as Brian makes his way up the stairway at the gang compound in the final act of the movie.
Joel Kinnaman is excellent in this role. Not only can he delivery on the physically-demanding action, but he is also able to show so much raw emotion in his face and actions without speaking any words. We see Brian reach the lowest of lows as he falls into a depression after the loss of his son, but his thirst for vengeance gives him a new reason to live and move on. It’s not clear whether or not his wife knows that he’s planning this vengeance suicide mission. Even though it’s only Brian who can’t speak, Saya also doesn’t say a word, just communicating with her husband via text messages. But actress Catalina Sandino Moreno also gives a great performance, making it clear the emotions that Saya is going through as she sees her relationship with her loving husband crumbling shortly after losing her son.
While I think the dialogue-free idea works very well in general, and makes for an interesting and unique visual experience, things do get a little slow in the middle. However, once Brian starts to enact his plan, things get really exciting and action-packed. From hand-to-hand combat, to car chases and shoot-outs, all of the skills that Brian spent months learning are really put to the test. He’s gone from grieving electrician to John Wick in just 7 months. Fueled by raw emotion and a thirst for revenge, he becomes a one man killing machine ready to clean up the city’s gang problem in one night—a situation the entire police force hasn’t been able to manage over several years. And he’s got various levels of bosses to work his way through until he gets to Playa, the man responsible for his son.
Lionsgate Home Entertainment has released Silent Night on physical media on both a general Blu-ray/DVD release as well as a Walmart-exclusive 4K/Blu-ray SteelBook. We were sent a copy of the 4K release for review. The picture quality looks amazing, with beautiful, clean picture throughout, with an excellent level of detail in faces and textures. You can see the sweat and tears that run down Brian’s face as he runs through a range of emotions. Colors look natural throughout and the Dolby Vision really shines during the final act when Brian heads into the green and orange-lit gang compound. The audio track is also really well done. While there’s not really any dialogue, the room is often filled with the sounds of helicopters or rain overhead, the sound of bullets flying everywhere, or the screeches of a high-speed car chase. The film’s score is also presented beautifully.
The 4K SteelBook release comes with both 4K and Blu-ray discs, which include the same bonus material—a 17-minute behind-the-scenes featurette, and the film’s trailer. The discs are placed on either side of the case, which is placed inside a clear slipcover. The release should also include redemptions instructions for a non-Movies Anywhere digital copy (this was missing from our copy, so I can’t confirm the redemption quality/options).
What’s Included:
Film: (1:44:03)
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4K UHD:
- 2160p / Widescreen 2.00:1
- Dolby Vision / HDR10
- Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dobly TrueHD 7.1 Compatible), English Descriptive Audio, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
- 1080p / Widescreen 2.00:1
- Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dobly TrueHD 7.1 Compatible), English Descriptive Audio, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital
- Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
- Our review copy was missing the digital code, but according to the packaging a Digital Copy should be included. (It will not be Movies Anywhere compatible)
(Update 2/5: Lionsgate provided a replacement digital copy code that offered either an Apple or Vudu redeem)
Blu-ray:
Digital (code subject to expiration):
Extras:
- Actions Speak Louder Than Words (16:50)
The cast and crew discuss working with the legendary director John Woo, the challenges and advantages of making a dialogue-free action film, how camera movement becomes even more important, how the lack of dialogue affected the use of sound for physicality & score, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director John Woo, cinematographer Sharone Meir, editor Zach Staenberg, sound designer Mark Stoeckinger, composer Marco Beltrami, and stars Joel Kinnaman (“Brian Godlock”), Catalina Sandino Moreno (“Saya”) & Scott Mescudi (“Det. Vassel”). - Theatrical Trailer (2:21)
Final Thoughts:
Silent Night is a creative and unique dialogue-free action film. The concept is excellent, and features a really strong performance by lead Joel Kinnaman. It probably could have been trimmed a little bit in the middle, but the final act is quite exciting and action packed. Lionsgate’s 4K release looks and sounds amazing and comes packed in a beautiful SteelBook case. Unfortunately the bonus material is a bit slim. That said, it’s an enjoyable film, and the presentation will certainly please fans, making this an easy recommendation for anyone who is looking for an exciting action movie with a twist, and a little more emotion.
Silent Night (2023) DVD
$8.99 (as of December 16, 2024 14:04 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
Silent Night (2023)
$7.99 (as of December 16, 2024 14:04 GMT -05:00 – More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
