There are enough intriguing concepts and at least two strong performances to sustain ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’, although it may be regarded as a first cut of a film that is promising to be much deeper and richer in the final cut. Director Michael Sarnoski who did ‘Pig’ is actually skilled in evoking the sad and understated moments of character that are absent from these kinds of weapons packed movies. The set of skills needed for this, which is quite central to the film, is however, missing. This in itself makes the setpieces seem rather inaccurate, and makes the critical elements of tension in the film rather low. Nevertheless, what has in the past actually been the reason for such movies, a money grab, is perhaps only a goal. Because in this instance, it has led the film to be one that cannot ever be dull and is just the right amount of unsettling to make one ponder what is the most important thing in the world when the world is crumbling around you.
Lupita Nyong’o always manages to impress, and in this film, she portrays the character of Sam who is a cancer patient in a stage so advanced that hospice care has been recommended. Sam decides to go to Manhattan for a trip with her support group led by a bearded Alex Wolff of ‘Pig’ fame. The puppet show they go to does not impress her very much, she just wants some NY pizza since she knows that this is their last chance to enjoy this delicacy they love so much. Now, what makes this even more poignant is that the character portrayed by Lupita is already in the end stages of cancer. How does it feel to fight for your life when the reality is that you are already dead? This is but one of many interesting themes that Sarnoski lays down within his picture, but which he then abandons too swiftly in favor of the flimsy narrative construction of a survival thriller.
But, the most important question is, which is how to mute one of the most noisy places on earth? NYC, Sarnoski’s film tells us, is about 90 decibels on a regular basis. Isn’t that the right setup for a movie which demonstrates how much noise there is in a place and how the people actually ‘keep quiet’? This is how this film goes however. There is never this sense that a crowd is all gathered in one place, the first day being the last day for the world, and this is because Sarnoski is unable to disguise the fact that his film was not filmed in Manhattan (it was done in London Soundstages). This makes the overall effect integrate the quality of sets rather than normal current reality.
As she does so, we are introduced to Sam and her film-theft feline Frodo, only for them to become companions of Eric (Joseph Quinn of “Stranger Things”), a young man who is quite frantic. The secret to ‘Day One’ considers the casting of Nyong’o and Quinn, for both of them having highly expressive faces, was a good move. They play a lot of aliens with dysfunctions who need to not make noise as they conquer Earth and these two actors carry most of the story with only their faces. Action in both of them moves almost all of the genre sunny performance.
The problem is there’s not enough story to be told. Early on, we come across Henri, played by Djimon Hounsou and that character comes from A Quiet Place: Part II, He gets perhaps one of the best scenes in the film where a man panics in front of him and his child. What are his thought processes? How worth it is the risk of killing some man who, for all intents and purposes, seems like he might put your loved ones at risk? It’s satisfying that this is brought up again when Eric panics and the same questions are applied to Sam but it does feel undercooked at times. “Day One” somehow even misses the mark on almost all thematic elevation and with its pace, at times it is no wonder Why Jeff Nichols who was once attached to the project left over creative disputes. It is hard to comprehend in today’s world of extravagant remakes, but this should have been a lengthy film; Its 99 minutes is quite inadequate in terms of building tension, character depth and the scope of the world.
However, Sarnoski’s remarkable ability to literary subtleties is visible in a few beats. He manages to get Nyong’o and Quinn to give credible performances with hardly any words but he could have hoped for a co-director to make ‘Day One’ more ambitious in terms of aesthetics. As far as the aliens are concerned, ‘Day One’ occupies a space between realism and an action movie, not bringing forth intense drama but missing the mark of a summer blockbuster as well. The small moments in ‘Day One’ the kids ducking in the fountain in order to muffle their brawls, Eric resurfacing from under the abandoned close subway, a ululating mouth being covered by a palm, Quinn & Nyong’o’s beautiful eyes prevent it from joining the ranks of creatively barren parts. This is not that. It’s got too much going for it to be dismissed in such a cynical manner. Just don’t anticipate anyone to champion it too brashly either.
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