Sometimes silence is golden, but in films it can be absolutely mesmerizing. Too much emphasis is placed on dialogue at times and this can help to kill or enhance a film’s credibility. In those films where silence rules for more than a few seconds however, it seems to indicate that nothing needs to be said right at that moment. This can be a very easily used method to further story and show a more emotional quality that some films don’t get enough of because of constant dialogue. Once the characters are allowed to simply quiet themselves however we get a real feel of what is going on inside and the internal struggle that is trying to take place.
There are many movies where silence is the preferred medium, here are some of the best.
5. WALL-E
Ever notice how futuristic movies don’t paint a pleasing picture of the earth or humanity’s role upon it? WALL-E is one of the last functioning garbage units that still goes about his task everyday, day in and day out, collecting junk and piling it up while taking the odd bit of garbage back to his charging station each day. There’s really nothing to be said, and in truth WALL-E is not much of a conversationalist, but there’s so much more to enjoy without the constant dialogue in this film.
4. Castaway
So eventually Tom Hanks does talk, but he’s essentially talking to himself while using Wilson as an outlet for his own troubled thoughts. For much of his time on the island however, pre-Wilson, he is almost without words. When he sorts the mail, when he goes about cracking coconuts, and when he struggles to survive he is silent for nearly three quarters of the time. His efforts to make the best of his situation are what becomes the point of interest for the viewers, and at some point the dialogue just seems like it might get in the way.
3. Up
There’s really no need for audible dialogue in this charming film. You get the gist of what the couple goes through without having to hear it aloud as they get married, create a life, and then tragically discover that they cannot expand their family as they wanted. Even then they do not give up, and continue to live happily throughout their years, until finally Ellie must part from her beloved husband, and life goes on.
2. Silence of The Lambs
Stuck in a basement, in the dark, with a known psychopath roaming around somewhere is not the ideal place to be. Agent Starling is perhaps the most naive FBI agent ever featured in a film, and yet her tenacity makes up for it somehow. Anyone with half a brain would have shot her and hidden the body to make it seem like she’d never been there. But Buffalo Bill is, well, a little odd, and doesn’t think he has much to fear from Starling as he continues to stalk her via his night vision goggles. Why are the bad guys always dumb enough to toy with their victims?
1. Copland
This is about as quiet as it gets during an action scene. Sure you can still hear the gunshots, but when the audience gets to experience what Stallone is going through the dial goes all the way down to zero. His character has been deafened by a gunshot and couldn’t hear a herd of wild elephants closing in on him. His only saving grace is that he can see the first two assailants and gets the drop on them, but the third and the fourth are dispatched with the help of his friend. This would be the most nerve-wracking shootout of all simply because you can’t hear a single thing.
Too many people take the silent scenes in films for granted. Sometimes you really don’t need to say anything to get the point across.
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