A Little Bit About A Quiet Place
Protecting those who can not protect themselves is a theme woven skillfully through the movie A Quiet Place. It’s not obvious at first, what with the virtually silent beginning and the tragic (yet somewhat foreseen) loss of a child, but it’s there inaudibly working its way to the surface until it screams in the face of certain death.
Personally, I wouldn’t have picked to see A Quiet Place. Suspense is not my thing. But it was my daughter’s birthday and her pick.
The story starts in a deserted town with a family rummaging (as noiselessly as possible) through a store to find medicine for their middle child. No incidental music, just the slight pitter patter of their youngest as he dashes up and down the aisles.
Soon we realize the cause for their caution. Scary creatures. Day 89 gives way to day 400+ to find the family hiding away on their farm, the mother expecting another child, and the silence-loving monsters still plaguing the world. These monsters, incidentally, look nothing like librarians or that lady in front of me at church.
Of course, the pregnancy angle put me on edge. That’s nothing compared to the nail, though.
As the movie unfolded, and the creatures drew closer, the parents primary goal became beautifully apparent—protect the children. Maybe that’s obvious. As parents, we should protect our children, but not many of us have to choose between our own safety and the life of our noisy child. And I daresay, none of us have needed to face down a creature with supersonic hearing.
I won’t spoil the ending for you or point out all my questions about how things could have possibly gotten so bad so quickly. Like why didn’t they just play a little opera music or ACDC? That might have worked.
Overall, I thought the movie was pretty good. The stranger next to me in the theatre had a different opinion. However, I got the impression she might be in the habit of not saying nice things ever. (I’m pretty sure people like that were gone by Day 2.)
Three and a Half plus a Thought or Two
As far as my rating goes, I give A Quiet Place three and a half stars.
And I’ll leave you with a bit of philosophizing. This movie was about protecting those who are weaker, and that’s a message we all need to be reminded of. As an American, I live in one of the strongest countries in the world. It is to our shame not to help those who are hurting and weak. We throw food away while others starve, even here on our own soil.
I don’t usually get political, and this isn’t really about politics. It goes deeper than that.
As a follower of Jesus, I have life, abundant, full, and eternal. Yet, I spend more time working on myself than sharing hope with you. It is to my shame not to tell you what I know to be true. What kind of believer am I if I don’t at least try to help others truly live? Or as Emily Blunt puts it in the movie, “Who are we if we can’t protect them?”
That’s exactly right. Who are we if know others are trapped and we do nothing to help them?
On a different note, check out April’s story of the month and be sure to read the alternate endings. And a special shout out to an anonymous friend who sent in another alternate ending for the story! Yay! Thanks!
