![]() ![]() (And the name Soylent is, of course, a reference to another apocalyptic film.) In A Quiet Place, though, the very preparation of a meal suddenly becomes a life-or-death scenario. Works like Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles sometimes hypothesize that food delivery methods will change, often to become more efficient through pills or Soylent-esque nutritional goop. The availability of food is almost always addressed in these scenarios, but less common is an exploration of the physical act of eating in these worlds. Many end-of-civilization stories depict a gutted food chain, from the grim insect farms of Blade Runner: 2049 to the bleak descriptions of the characters’ desperation to ward off hunger in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Fresh, crisp foods like carrots and apples are nothing more than giant, neon arrows for the aliens. Even the produce that the family can eat is limited by circumstance, not to mention geography. The usual relief that catastrophe survivors find in packaged and canned goods is denied them here a can opener grinding against aluminum will rip through the silence as surely as a bullet. In a scene which is almost a requirement of post-apocalyptic films at this point, A Quiet Place opens in a ransacked drugstore, panning across the empty aisles and debris left behind by panicked looters. Nor can they rely on pre-apocalypse leftovers to save them. Only fish, which slip silently through the water and can be caught using quiet traps, are available to the hungry survivors. (And, as a scene in which a scuttling raccoon is snatched up by an alien indicates, it’s doubtful there’s much game left, anyway.) Beef, pork, and even eggs are out, as raising animals is an inherently noisy endeavor. But given the circumstances, it is entirely possible that the family in A Quiet Place will have to eat a version of this same dinner for every meal, forever.įor the film’s characters, fish is the only reliable source of animal protein because the boom of a gunshot means instant death for the hunter. Walkways are marked by trails of soft sand to prevent errant footfalls, and the small metal Monopoly tokens have been replaced by felt facsimiles.īut it’s Krasinski’s complete reimagining of the food system in this new world that is most impressive.Īt first glance, a meal of fish and fresh vegetables seems almost luxurious, particularly in a dystopian setting, where we are accustomed to plotlines revolving around scarcity and desperation. Krasinski highlights just how noisily we move through the world by showing the pains that characters must now take to avoid doing that. The myriad ways in which everyday activities generate sound are constantly brought to the viewer’s attention. The creatures hunt using sound, and those who have survived have done so by ensuring that their whole lives are conducted in absolute silence. ![]() The film, which he wrote, directed, and stars in alongside real-life wife Emily Blunt, is set only a few years in the future against a post-apocalyptic landscape in which carnivorous, alpha-predator aliens have wiped out the majority of the human race. This is the Instagram-less, Goop-free world that John Krasinski has built in his new thriller. The charming tablecloths and placemats deaden the sound of every action to the point where almost nothing registers at all. Instead, the four diners remain completely silent, communicating by sign language when required, and taking pains to not even pour their water too loudly. No music playing in the background, or knives cracking through crusty loaves of bread. There is no clink of cutlery against ceramic, or chit-chat about the characters’ days. It only takes a moment to register that something is deeply wrong. They hold hands for a brief prayer and then dig in. The burlap tablecloth and colorful placemats could have come from Pier 1, and the rustic wooden drinking vessels might be straight off Etsy. Before them, a spread of harvest-hued roasted vegetables and that same fish, arranged on plates made from what looks to be huge, deep green cruciferous leaves. Then the scene cuts to a family of four sitting around a table. First, a whole freshwater fish, surrounded by glossy green leaves and plumes of steam, emerges from an underground smoke pit, where it’s been gently roasting over smoldering coals. It could even be the illustration of Gwyneth Paltrow’s weeknight dinner tips. One of the opening scenes of A Quiet Place, the new horror film that’s a legitimate box office phenomenon, looks like a shot from a hip-but-wholesome Instagram influencer. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |