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How John Woo's New No-Dialogue Movie Is Still Epic, According To Star
Joel Kinnaman, star of John Woo's upcoming action film, Silent Night, says that the movie is still epic even though it features no dialogue. Woo, who hails from Hong Kong, is one of the most important filmmakers working in action cinema today. The director is responsible for hits like Face/Off, Hard Boiled, Red Cliff, A Better Tomorrow, and Mission: Impossible II. Although renowned for his contributions to action cinema, Woo hasn't made a film since 2017's Manhunt.
Little is known about Woo's upcoming film, Silent Night, but it is expected to tell the story of a grieving father who seeks revenge on a ruthless gang on Christmas Eve. Woo previously revolutionized action cinema by incorporating intricate sequences of slow-motion shooting and fighting, but his latest film looks to take this style to an entirely new level by featuring nothing but action, with no dialogue. Not much is known about Kinnaman's character, Godlock, but the actor is no stranger to action filmmaking, having starred in The Suicide Squad, RoboCop, and Run All Night. In addition to Kinnaman, Silent Night stars Kid Cudi, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Vinny O'Brien, and Yoko Hamamura.
In a new interview with Collider ahead of the release of For All Man Kind season 3, in which he also stars, Kinnaman discusses Silent Night and the challenges associated with acting in a movie with no dialogue. The actor explains that the plot is relatively simple, but overall it's a "dynamic action movie with a lot of heavy drama." Kinnaman recognizes that Silent Night is a "cinematic experiment," but assures fans that it felt "pretty damn epic" while he was shooting it. Check out Kinnaman's full comment below:
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“It was the perfect kind of script to try this sort of cinematic experiment. It's a very dynamic action movie with a lot of heavy drama, but the actual plot is pretty simple. And I think you really want that in a film where you don't have any dialogue to explain to the viewers what's happening. So I think it's going to be pretty easy to follow, and hopefully you'll get all the emotion just through the eyes and through the action. And I hope it's going to be pretty damn epic. That's what it felt like when we shot it.”
While there are plenty of movies that feature relatively little dialogue, like A Quiet Place, Drive, or Hush, audiences will be hard-pressed to find one with no dialogue at all, save for movies from the silent era of film. Considering his action movie credentials, however, Woo certainly seems up for the task, and Kinnaman's comment suggests that the movie will feature plenty of standout action to make up for the lack of dialogue. Without dialogue, as Kinnaman's comment suggests, his role as an actor is almost more difficult, with only his eyes and his actions used as tools to convey emotion.
It remains to be seen how the "cinematic experiment" of Silent Night will actually turn out, but, if Kinnaman's comments are anything to go by, it sounds like it will be an epic experience for audiences. Most of Woo's best action sequences, such as those found in Mission: Impossible II or Hard Boiled are very light on dialogue so, in many ways, fans of the director might already have a good idea of what to expect from his latest film. Audiences still have a while to wait to see for themselves, however, with Silent Night not expected to release until 2023.
