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Silent Night
2023 104 min United States of America R 18+
★5.8
Action, Thriller, Crime, Drama
Director: John Woo
Trailers
EN
EN
Teaser
Description
A tormented father witnesses his young son die when caught in a gang's crossfire on Christmas Eve. While recovering from a wound that costs him his voice, he makes vengeance his life's mission and embarks on a punishing training regimen in order to avenge his son's death.
US Gross:
$8.01M
Starring
Joel Kinnaman
Actor
Kid Cudi
Actor
Harold Torres
Actor
Awards
3 nominations total
Key opinion
John Woo's experiment with a near-silent revenge thriller receives polarized reactions, with many praising Joel Kinnaman’s committed physical performance while others find the narrative logic and pacing frustratingly dull. While the film’s attempt to deconstruct traditional action tropes is appreciated by some, the consensus leans toward it being a technically competent but tonally uneven and overly morose experience.
| Acting | Joel Kinnaman delivers a powerful, emotive performance that effectively anchors the narrative despite the absence of dialogue. | |
| Direction | The action sequences are technically well-executed and reflect John Woo’s signature style, though they are often front-loaded or limited in quantity. | |
| Originality | The central conceit of a silent, dialogue-free revenge film is viewed as both a risky, engaging stylistic choice and an unjustified, boring gimmick. | |
| Pacing | The film's pacing is deeply polarizing, with the extensive focus on the protagonist's repetitive preparation and grief seen as either tedious or a necessary humanizing weight. | |
| Screenplay | The plot suffers from illogical character motivations, poorly established drama, and a script that fails to ground the protagonist's sudden combat proficiency. | |
| Ending | The final act is widely criticized for shifting into a cartoonish or superfluous tone that clashes with the film's previously grounded, somber atmosphere. |