Movie Review: ‘Silent Night’

Review by James Lindorf

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times in writer and director Camille Griffin’s apocalyptic Christmas movie “Silent Night.” Travel delays, being seated next to the cousin with extreme political views, or a broken oven are usually the biggest concerns during the holiday season, but this year will be different because no matter how well or poorly it goes, everyone dies at the end. The Matthew Vaughn (The Kingsmen) produced dark comedy will be released day and date in select theaters and AMC + on December 3rd.

Nell (Keira Knightley) and Simon (Matthew Goode) are working on the final details of preparing their countryside manor for their oldest friends, who are coming for a big Christmas gathering. Their children, Art (Roman Griffin Davis) and twins Thomas (Gilby Griffin Davis) and Hardy (Hardy Griffin Davis), spend time helping out, playing, and enjoying their early gift of getting to swear as much as they want without punishment. This year’s guests include the outspoken Bella (Lucy Punch) and her partner, Alex (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), James (Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù) with his young girlfriend, Sophie (Lily-Rose Depp), Sandra (Annabelle Wallis), who has always had a crush on James and her husband Tony (Rufus Jones) and daughter Kitty (Davida McKenzie). There is a lot of fun and the drinks are flowing but there is also plenty of tension among the group. Mostly centered around Sandra and James and a mysterious pact they keep referencing.

Suppose you logged into the app or walked into the theater to watch “Silent Night” without knowing the premise. In that case, you might be shocked when Griffin finally unveils that there is more going on than meets the eye. The early scenes are crafted as just another holiday movie, and after about 20 minutes, we learn the truth. Griffin never goes into too many details about what is happening, but who cares about the details if the world is ending. Maybe it’s global warming, aliens, or the Russians, but there is a mysterious unstoppable gas spreading around the globe that causes a violent and painful death. To “help” its citizens one last time, the government has sent out pills to give its people a painless escape. Everyone is on board with taking their drug after one great night except politically aware and defiant Art, and Sophie who wasn’t told about the pact prior to her arrival. As the night unfolds, everyone has to come to terms with elements of their past and limited futures. The best conversations are around the humanity of mass suicide and those left to die from the gas.

“Silent Night” has tropes of both holiday and end of the world films, both of which include emotional breakdowns and the sharing of secrets. Unfortunately, Griffin doesn’t smoothly blend the two into a new shape, and the sum ends up lesser than the parts. Oddly enough parts of the script are written from the point of view of an insider. At one point in the night, the adults have a humorous and emotional conversation about things that happened when they were growing up. In what should be the showcase scene, the audience is left piecing together context clues instead of experiencing the performances. The stress of the holidays and the impending doom is too heavy for the comedic elements that Griffin was able to come up with. There are a few chuckle moments but nothing that can balance the horror of the gas. Instead of delving deep into the emotional process of making a suicide pact we join the end of the world story already in progress. All but two characters have gone through the five stages of grief and have accepted what is happening. Whenever Art or Sophie try to challenge the group, they are shouted down, isolated, or ignored so the adults can get back to downing bottles of champagne.

Knightley headlines a group of solid performances but the best combination of character and performance is Roman Griffin Davis as Art. Those performances and an interesting premise keep you from feeling left out in the cold, but “Silent Night” falls short of being a Christmas classic. “Reservoir Dogs,” “She’s Gotta Have It,” and “12 Angry Men” are among the best directorial debuts in the history of movies, and “Silent Night” may not be on their level, but it is in the next tier and earns a 3.5 out of 5. There are a lot of good decisions and elements. Still, you can see where improvements could be made that would have resulted in something exceptional.

Genre: Horror, Drama, Comedy
Original Language: English (United Kingdom)
Director: Camille Griffin
Producer: Celine Rattray, Trudie Styler, Matthew Vaughn
Writer: Camille Griffin
Release Date: December 3rd, 2021
Runtime: 1h 32m
Distributor: RLJE Films