Despite kicking out half the journalists due to see the movie last week in New York, Paramount has screened Martin Scorsese’s “Silence” for critics and the reviews are in. It’s a long-time-coming passion project and seemingly concludes the faith trilogy that Scorsese began with “The Last Temptation Of Christ” and “Kundun.” The picture tells the story of two missionaries (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver, the latter of whom lost 55 pounds for the role) who face the ultimate test of faith when they travel to Japan in search of their missing mentor (Liam Neeson) — at a time when Christianity was outlawed and their presence forbidden. “Silence” has been a 28-year-long journey to bring Shusaku Endo‘s 1966 acclaimed novel to the screen, where it will open on Christmas.
Scorsese bought the rights to the film in 1989. “I was taken by the moment of apostasy,” he told THR recently, “but I didn’t quite understand the epilogue.” He would toil away on the script for years, bringing in other writers, and the director almost managed to get it into production a few years ago with Daniel Day-Lewis, Benicio Del Toro and Gael García Bernal in the lead roles. But it was killed to due to “an extraordinary Gordian knot of legal problems and issues,” Scorsese said.
By all accounts, “Silence” is a austere, tough and challenging movie, but one that will deliver many rewards. It also sounds like a film that could stand multiple viewings, too. Here are a few reviews and what they had to say, including some tweets:
Variety: ”A taxing film that will not only hold up to multiple viewings, but practically demands them.”
THR: “Scorsese has flirted with and danced around the subject in many of his other films… but of his explicitly religious dramas, specifically including ‘Kundun’ and ‘The Last Temptation of Christ,’ this is, by a considerable distance, the most eloquent and coherent.”
The Wrap: “Deals explicitly with the pain of doubt, God’s silence in the face of suffering, and apostasy versus martyrdom; it’s a welcome change of pace, even if it’s not always effectively rendered.”
Awards Circuit: “History has remembered ‘Citizen Kane‘ and ‘Vertigo.’ These were two films not whole heartedly recognized as masterpieces of their time. History now, however, will remember ‘Silence,’ a marvelous and inspiring cinematic experience not to be forgotten.”
Time Out New York: “Scorsese has hit the rare heights of Ingmar Bergman and Carl Theodor Dreyer, artists who found in religion a battleground that often left the strongest in tatters. It’s a movie desperately needed at a moment when bluster must yield to self-reflection.”
Screen International: “Uneven, sometimes repetitive but also powerfully moving and thought-provoking, ‘Silence’ is an imperfect movie that’s very hard to shake.”