That's not to say I'm opposed to the concept of the single-shot movie. I think with the previous example it was a case of me just not liking "Hard Boiled," although the precision and craftsmanship in that scene was impressive. I think that it could be a very effective way of presenting a story, although my biggest concern would be that the gimmick of that concept might overshadow the rest of the film. I can imagine watching a movie like that and be more concerned about spotting where they could sneak in an edit as opposed to what's going on in the film.
And yes, they do sneak in edits in "Silent House." It's not actually one single shot, I'm estimating it's probably between 10 and 16, although if one weren't looking for the edits, you could easily miss them. And it is true that I did find myself saying "Edit!" out loud whenever I saw an occasion where they probably cut, usually when the camera went behind a box for a split second or something. But that aside, it was not nearly as distracting as I thought it would be. In fact, I'd dare say that it was this decision to present "Silent House" in this fashion that made it at least mildly worth watching, because as far as story goes it has little else to recommend, unfortunately.
"Silent House" is about a girl named Sarah, played by Elizabeth Olsen. She and her father and uncle are fixing up their summer home, which is boarded up and sufficiently creepy looking, and naturally the power is out. And since the movie starts in the early evening, and the movie takes place in real time, it's almost immediately lit with candles and flashlights, which become our main source of light for the film.
Let's hear it for our lighting department! Otherwise known as this lamp!
Other than this very basic lead-in, it's really just best to say "stuff starts getting weird." Once we hit the 15 minute mark or so, Elizabeth Olsen generally spends the rest of the movie at first walking extremely unnecessarily slowly around the house, and then running, trying to get away from whatever the hell it is that's going on. Since a big part of "Silent House" is really about finding out what in the crap is happening, to say much more about the plot would be pretty detrimental to someone's viewing experience of it. And not an insignificant portion of the reason for this is because the lead-in to the ending is far more entertaining than the ending itself.
I'm purposefully going to be obtuse on the ending because I have to be honest, everything leading up to the big reveal at the end is actually pretty interesting. While it may sound really lame to follow someone running through a house for an hour and a half, there is enough intrigue going on that it honestly really had my attention. It was mysterious and cryptic, and nothing was making much sense, and then it just gets balls-out crazy near the very end. I just really wanted to know where in the world they were going with this madness, and that's what kept my attention. In that regard, it was very absorbing.
And then the ending hit. You know, I was really trying to be nice to this movie up to this point, because I really wanted to like it. I love unique films, and this fits the bill. However, I can't let this go. Here's the ugly truth about "Silent House": The ending is yak excrement. And it's one of those endings that only gets worse and makes less sense the more you think about it. I know I have a problem over-thinking stuff like this, but the more I thought about it, the more the ending had me getting more ticked off thinking about the physical impossibilities that the twist needed to happen in order for it to occur.
The worst part is that I had an inkling of what was going on 25 minutes in. And I was really hoping they weren't going to go there, but hey presto, what do you know, they did. Basically, just imagine the most overused "twist" to throw in the end of a thriller/horror flick where things start getting trippy. You know the one I mean. Yeah that's the one they used. Unfortunately it's also the cliche that requires a lot of finesse to get to work relatively seamlessly. And it's so dumb that it really brings the rest of the movie down with it.
Remember kids, just because you foreshadow it heavily in the beginning doesn't mean that it will all make sense at the end. That just means you foreshadowed something that is dumb. I'm looking at you, Shyamalan.
"What if...SARAH is the house the whole time?!"
And while it's not as big of a deal as it could have been, I did have a minor gripe with something else. Essentially it all boils down to how hard it is to escape from a boarded up house. Having never tried to pull down planks of wood that have been nailed across a window, I can only imagine that it would be difficult. However, if you really wanted to escape, I mean really wanted out of a house because someone hiding inside was trying to kill you, I imagine that you'd be able to make at least a little progress out of shear adrenaline and willpower.
In "Silent House," she basically fumbles at the boards a bit, tries yanking for 5 seconds and then gives up to find another longer, scarier way out. She also conveniently forgets about the sledgehammer her dad was using not a half hour beforehand. And yeah, Elizabeth Olsen isn't exactly She-Hulk but you read stories about moms lifting cars off of their children. I'd think at the very least, she could put a bit more effort towards escaping, because I don't care if I'd have to gnaw my way out, were I in her shoes those planks would be gone, closely followed by myself.
Pictured above: Artist's interpretation of the escape.
Or you know...there's always the upstairs windows. You know, the ones that most likely aren't boarded up as heavily. Or go to the padlocked backdoor you couldn't find the key for and get a screwdriver and unscrew the latch since you're on the inside of the house. Or just find a damn crowbar or failing that a hammer and start prying boards off. I'm just saying that because you'd only need to pry off like 2, maybe 3 boards to fit your skinny ass through the gap. Plus there are tools laying all over the place since your dad is fixing up the house. Like that sledgehammer. I'm just saying...
(Seriously, she had to have walked past that sledgehammer at least twice)
YOU DON'T DESERVE ESCAPE.
THE BOTTOM LINE - "Silent House" is an interesting concept that is marred by a really dumb ending. While I praise its attempt at doing something unique, which it did well, and Olsen's performance, which was good, the gimmick is all that it's got going on for it. Recommended if the concept of a film presented as a single shot intrigues you, but don't except much in the way of story.
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