Director: James Watkins
Cast: James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Aisling Franciosi, Alix West Lefler, Dan Hough, Scoot McNairy
Rating: (R16)
★★★+
By AMASIO JUTEL
Speak No Evil (Rialto, Reading) sets the loaded gun on the table then proceeds to dare you to think it’s going to fire, sewing anxiety, doubt and despair into the tapestry of the text.
Louise (Mackenzie Davis), Ben (Scoot McNairy) and Agnes Dalton (Alix West Lefler) are an American family uncomfortable with their new move to London. Hoping to get away from their distress, they go to the English countryside to visit Paddy (James McAvoy), Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) and their mute son Ant (Dan Hough), an odd family who may be harbouring dark secrets.
Speak No Evil is a beat-for-beat remake of the 2022 Danish film of the same title, however, if there is any reason to remake that perfectly serviceable film, his name is James McAvoy, who commands the film with an awe-full menace. Mackenzie Davis is the unlikely surprise of the film, who steps up to the plate when her eager-to-please husband cowers before McAvoy’s bully.
The theme of gender power echoes effectively throughout the film, in uncomfortable moments that depict sexist micro aggressions, elevating it from a standard thriller to a great, subtext-laden commentary on patriarchal violence.
Cinematically, Speak No Evil is a cut above the average, sitting in scenes for excruciating amounts of time to accentuate the thrill of the action.
The film is also comedically self-conscious about its status as a remake, including several in-jokes about Denmark and Danish families (the country of the original’s origin).
