Film Review: SILENT NIGHT (2021): Keira Knightley Stars In a Film With a Smart but Underdeveloped Premise

Silent Night Review

Silent Night (2021) Film Review, a movie directed by Camille Griffin and starring Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Roman Griffin Davis, Annabelle Wallis, Lily-Rose Depp, Sope Dirisu, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Lucy Punch, Rufus Jones, Davida McKenzie, Trudie Styler, Holly Aird, Dora Davis, Hardy Griffin Davis and Gilby Griffin Davis.

Director Camille Griffin brings an interesting new premise to the screen in the dark dramatic film, Silent Night. Earlier this year, we had a fun take on the end of the world as we know it in the entertaining movie, How It Ends and, in Silent Night, we get a much more bleak take on the end of humanity. Griffin’s movie is packed with intriguing performances and scenes with a lot of artistic merit but they don’t always add up to a coherent whole. The movie takes on the theme of climate change and how it could affect the world as time progresses. It does so through a story line set during Christmas-time in a house filled with family who, at first, seem to have their differences but, eventually, will, more or less, learn to accept their fates as the world comes closer to a close.

Set in a nice home in the English countryside, Keira Knightley stars as a mom named Nell who is married to Simon (Matthew Goode). The young breakout star of Jojo Rabbit, Roman Griffin Davis, steals the movie right out from under them, though, as their awkward son Art who accidentally cuts himself and bleeds over carrots in the opening scenes of the movie. Annabelle Wallis plays Nell’s sister, Sandra, who is married to Tony (Rufus Jones). Also on board are a slew of other characters coming together to share in the misery that is about to occur. The most memorable of these characters is Lily-Rose Depp’s Sophie who is underdeveloped like many of the characters here but has a caring demeanor in the latter stages of the movie.

There is not much plot to speak of other than the impending doom that the characters end up facing and the government pills that are distributed and meant to end people’s lives peacefully rather than gruesomely. But, either way, life is going to end. Or is it? Judging from the film’s ambiguous ending, it’s hard to tell what the final verdict is going to be.

A lot of the film feels unscripted although the acting by a few of the key players is solid. Roman Griffin Davis plays Art quite realistically and the audience can truly feel for his character as he is torn between fighting to try to preserve his life and dying especially after he witnesses an ugly scenario after fleeing his home in the hopes of survival.

Interspersed into the film are moments of the characters partying and, of course, the song “Silent Night” makes its appearance in the movie as well. Davida McKenzie as Kitty, Nell’s young niece, is a standout while other performers simply breeze through the picture without much charm or personality.

One can assume the film is supposed to be about the love we have for our family and how we take each day for granted but I’m not entirely sure. It could also be about the way people get together for the holidays despite having little in common and forge phony dead-end relationships. Both perceptions could be correct and proven through analysis of the movie’s individual scenes. There are also parts of the film that make little sense such as surprise resurrections and the fact that we never truly understand why the characters remain calm in some scenes and a mess in others. Obviously having not lived through the end of the world, it’s hard to know what the normal reaction would be so the film paints some interesting possibilities.

Keira Knightley does a decent job as the mother who tries to protect her children from the dangerous fate that could await them all. Kirby Howell-Baptiste’s character, Alex, ends up getting stabbed by Lucy Punch’s character, Bella. I couldn’t tell you much more about those two women after the movie ended and that’s evidence of the film’s underdevelopment which is definitely apparent on screen. A film with this premise could have gone all the way like the much different but brilliant end of the world drama from 1989, Miracle Mile.

Silent Night, despite its shortcomings, is intense and interesting and proves that young performer Roman Griffin Davis is definitely no flash in the pan success. One could wish there was more meat on the new film’s bones but the thoughts the movie initiates may be the point rather than telling a compelling story like most films do. You’ll either want to call your family and tell them you love them after this film or simply not call them at all. Either reaction would be correct based on the way the film plays out and one’s interpretation of the movie’s portrayed events.

Rating: 6/10

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