Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: SILENT NIGHT [Toronto International Film Festival 2021 - Virtual]
The aspect of inevitability rests in the idea of what can be controlled and not controlled. The tendency of possibility or even acceptance is at the core of "Silent Night" [Gala Presentations] which boasts an interesting cast in an almost "Peter's Friends" set against the impending end of the world. Keira Knightly and Matthew Goode play a couple inviting all their close "sisters" around for a final night where it becomes clear that all the textures of life are coming to end. The reason it happens is not explained though some finger pointing lays blame to a Russian cause. As with most cataclysmic stories, it comes from a place of redemption or even just tendency....be it lost romantic possibilities or abandonment to the wind. The unique aspect here is the restraint of the characters involved (much like perhaps say "Titanic") but that is undeniably British. There are some specific casting choices that work well. Annabelle Wallis (recent seen in the less-than-stellar "Malignant") plays the conflicted half of a marriage with a narcisstic child, and yet she always want more. Roman Griffin Davis, last seen in "Jojo Rabbit" plays one of the sons of Knightley and Goode who debates why the inevitable needs to happen.
The British government has offered an out (of sorts) here: a painless pill. It brings to mind different ethical questions of explanation and when suffering should be cut out. The progression is done with a minimum of special effects which is actually more effective (including the requisite looming clouds). The one outsider is played by Lili Rose Depp which is of course interesting because her dad is [Johnny] Depp who Knightley starred with in the original "Pirates Of The Caribbean". While the movie never quite achieves an emotional crescendo, it tries to pepper humor and a bit of sardonic relevance. One moment that rings true with impact and captures the gentleness of Goode and Knightley at one point dancing to no music after a zoom call ends abruptly. "Silent Night" is a genre film working against standards with a character drama at its core where the essence of what can be chosen reverberates, even when there is apparently no choice. B
By Tim Wassberg
