Movie Review: The Silencing

credit: The Silencing

There are probably a few people that would admit that Nikolaj Coster-Waldau did some of his best acting when he was still playing the part of a Lannister on Game of Thrones, but the fact is that he’s put in a great performance in a few movies during and since then. It’s true that he’s usually seen in a drama of some sort that moves kind of slow and takes a great deal of attention to really get into. But if one does fall into this story or any of the others that he’s done, they’re likely to be pleasantly surprised since when it comes to acting, he is one of the better talents out there that doesn’t appear to get enough roles that really make his abilities stand out. The Silencing is one of many movies that takes some time to get into since Rayburn Swanson appears to be the type of guy that doesn’t really like people and isn’t necessarily going to adhere to what people want. It’s established at one point that even his ex-wife and her husband aren’t safe from his lack of manners. But at the very least, Rayburn is a complicated character, but he’s not an evil man. 

credit: The Silencing

There’s a general feeling that a lot of people don’t care for Rayburn too much. 

This is pretty easy to see since Rayburn is an alcoholic and not exactly friendly. He is a decent person that has turned a corner, as he’s recognized by several people as someone that used to be a bad individual that did bad things. But his interaction with a group of kids that come to his sanctuary to learn about the wilderness makes it clear that he’s still not a great person to be around. Not only is he drunk when he’s with the kids, but he also makes it clear that he doesn’t like them when he jokes around with a trap and the manner in which it is used. 

The antagonist stays well-hidden, which is a fun part of the movie. 

The moment a body turns up, it carries the feeling of being a significant find since the scar on the corpse’s throat, once seen, is all kinds of interesting since it was obviously inflicted before the girl was dead due to the healed appearance. But what happened to her, or why she was taken or when, is a big question. Eventually, the audience gets to learn that Rayburn’s daughter was abducted years before, and he fell apart in the years since, as did his marriage. His wife remarrying didn’t help, and the fact that he and her new husband don’t like each other just makes things worse. But when Rayburn becomes involved in a fight with a stranger in a ghillie suit that uses an atlatl of all things as a hunting weapon, he finds that nothing is safe as he plays a dangerous game of cat and mouse with the killer, whose identity is hard to peg for a while. The worst part is that it’s not tough to pin down the idea that the killer knows something about anatomy, since slicing a person’s vocals is not an easy thing to do for the average individual. 

credit: The Silencing

There are a few characters that it’s easy to dislike. 

Rayburn might not be the nicest individual in the movie, but he’s easier to like than the sheriff’s brother Brooks, who appears to be the type that gets in trouble more often than not for things that he’s done or just because he looks suspicious. It’s tough to trust the sheriff after a while since she’s out to protect her brother and, more to the point, she doesn’t trust Rayburn, at least not right away. One thing that’s easy to point out is that an atlatl, which is essentially a dart-throwing device that’s been around for centuries, if not longer, is not a common hunting weapon. In fact, it’s not even that easy to use unless one knows how. That means that an assassin using a ghillie suit and an extremely outdated weapon is even scarier since not only does a person have to be able to track the weapon and its maker, they have to be able to see the person that’s doing the hunting. 

Rayburn is a tough individual, which makes this movie worth it. 

The fun part about Rayburn is that he’s a hunter, but he’s not Superman by any means since he can be hurt, and he does have to think on his feet to make something happen. Eventually, when the killer is revealed as one of the last people that the audience might have suspected, it’s a nice twist to see that Rayburn has no intention of allowing the individual to live. 

If nothing else, this movie was fun because it didn’t require a lot of thought, just a good deal of attention.