How John Krasinski Responded to a Critic Who Called ‘A Quiet Place’ ‘Conspicuously Regressive’
A Quiet Place was one of the biggest horror movie sensations of the last decade. A nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat thriller bolstered by spectacular performances and a ton of heart, it was easily one of the best films of 2018. However, not everyone agreed with that assessment, and the film’s star/writer/director John Krasinski had some thoughts about that.
1 review of ‘A Quiet Place’ wasn’t too keen on its implicit politics
The New Yorker contributor Richard Brody penned a review of the film titled “The Silently Regressive Politics of ‘A Quiet Place.'”
In his piece, he tackled the underlying ideology that can be interpreted from the movie’s plot and themes. Brody wrote that A Quiet Place is “the antithesis of Get Out, inasmuch as its symbolic realm is both apparently unconscious and conspicuously regressive.”
In short, he felt that the film’s surface-level elements — that of a white family using their guns to protect their land from “invaders” — was a little too close for comfort with the fantasies of unsavory conservative types. The creatures offered a layer of abstraction from this. But it’s not an uncommon metaphor to have an “undesirable” described as aliens (quite literally when it comes to immigrants).
Uncharitable as it may be, the reading isn’t completely out there. And Brody praises some aspects of the movie. He particularly liked the sequences in which the world is “heard” from the deaf character Regan’s perspective. For him, though, this didn’t save the film from being a “survivalist horror-fantasy” staffed by empty characters. He felt the good parts were ironically silenced in favor of loudly (if seemingly unconsciously) promoting its ideology.
‘A Quiet Place’ director John Krasinski claims he never intended this message
The Office alum John Krasinski wrote, directed, and starred in A Quiet Place. And he directly responded to Brody’s scathing review. In a write-up from Esquire, he talked about this interpretation. Overall, he maintains that the movie was meant to be apolitical.
“I never saw it that way or ever thought of it until it was presented to me in that way,” he explained. Krasinski stressed that he only intended for the movie to represent his feelings on parenthood. He conceived of the idea shortly after he and co-star Emily Blunt had their second child. So this was at the forefront of his mind throughout the production. Krasinski mainly wanted the movie to reinforce the love that comes with raising a child, all while testing the limits of how far one will go to protect the people they care about.
“If anything it was about, you know, going into the dark and, and taking a chance when all hope looked lost, you take, you know, you fight for what’s most important to you.”
More stories are set to take place in the franchise
Political leanings that may or may not be there aside, audiences have connected with the franchise in a big way. While the film’s sequel, A Quiet Place Part II, wasn’t quite as well-received as the first, it was a massive financial success. This all but guaranteed future installments.
And future installments there will be. At present, two new projects set within the universe are in production. Day One, set for release in 2024, will follow the alien invasion from the first day onward. And another proper sequel following the first two films’ main cast will be out a year after that.
