REVIEW #409 Speak No Evil (2024)

SYNOPSIS

A weekend away in the English countryside soon turns sinister when an American family vacations with a rather mysterious British family. 

REVIEW

Speak No Evil allows James McAvoy to thrive as the lead antagonist, tapping into his ability to portray truly sinister characters, in what seems to be his Jack Nicholson ‘The Shining’ moment! However, although it’s easy to present him with the praise, the rest of the cast do particularly well in acting as a counterweight to his characters intimidating and dangerous behaviour. For example young actor Dan Hough who is marvellous in the film, especially for someone of his age. I haven’t seen the original Danish movie, so I was able to go in without any already establish bias for another version, allowing me to enjoy this at face value. The movie really acts as a psychological unravelling of toxic masculinity and manipulation, exploiting other men who perhaps feel inferior in their own lives, for their own advantage. Then the final act represents the sinister turn into violence, it did take a while to get there but it did feel like a satisfying conclusion. My only criticism was perhaps they could have been braver with the gore and violence towards the end, it did seem a little tame in that regard. 

RATING: 8 out of 10

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Film Review Club