Movie Review - Bible Based: Speak No Evil

This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.

Don't Talk to Strangers.

Plot Overview

care bear Welcome London expatriates Ben (Scoot McNairy) & Louise (Mackenzie Davis) Dalton are experiencing routine marital difficulties and sudden unemployment. Their daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler,) almost twelve, is tottering on the brink of adolescence. For escape they join the holiday crowds in Tuscany, Italy. There they meet ebullient Paddy (James McAvoy) & his plucky wife Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) along with their handicapped boy Ant (Dan Hough) of Agnes's age. These take special interest in their down-in-the-dumps mates who take up their offer to spend a few days with them on their farm in Devon away from the madding crowd.

fishes eye trim boy at window bugs waltzing Something is off with these affable hosts. Paddy lacks the bedside manner of the doctor he claims to be. Observing Ant floundering in the pond, he says he can sink or swim. Real doctors regard life. Ant reveals body marks that would induce a real doctor to report it. Paddy is overly strict correcting Ant's ad hoc cowboy dance. The linen isn't clean as one would expect a physician's to be. Busy doctors don't have all the free time he seems to have. And mute Ant's illiteracy makes one think the authorities don't even know he's there. Otherwise, he being a clever boy would have been enrolled in school.

vegetables Daniel's accusers fed to lions dinner rooster and barn Ciara would like children from Paddy to replace her miscarriage. Paddy during his guy talk with Ben explains that people have gotten messed up by their parents who were messed up by theirs in turn, and so forth. Paddy's passion is the hunt (“That's what I live for,”) which we suppose he learned from his dad. He hunts the foxes on his land for “predator control.” Otherwise, they'd kill all the nesting birds. Yep. And their guests are nesting there right cozy. Birds of a feather flock together. Paddy's acquaintances include Mike (Kris Hitchen) the poacher & Muhjid (Motaz Mulhees) the baby sitter who plays hide and seek with the kids. So they're all into hunting. Mike slaughtered Lucy the pet goose, who thought herself queen of the barnyard, to feed her as a treat to Sarah the vegetarian into sustainable food. Someone wasn't quite the top of the food chain she thought herself to be. But that's nothing compared to what we see in the trophy room. Reminds me of a line from Rick Bass:

“My father used to hunt with eagles,” she said quietly. “He went over to Russia and bought one of those big Asian golden eagles [the berkutsk.] He spent a month over there using it to hunt deer, wolves, and even bears. They used to use them in battle to hunt men.” (57) [144]

Ideology

card players This creepy story lends itself to comparison with one of Kenny Rogers's songs concerning a chance encounter with “The Gambler” on a train bound for nowhere. He offered his fellow passenger the advice that “the secret to surviving is knowing what to throw away and knowing what to keep.” The refrain goes:

You've got to know when to hold 'em, Know when to fold 'em, Know when to walk away, Know when to run. You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table. There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.

This wisdom of the gambling man's repertoire is old as the hills and was passed on by a raconteur, Agur in Proverbs 30:1, whose four metaphors offered the same life advice as did Rogers's Gambler. That we find in, (Prov. 30:29-31) “There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going: A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any; A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.”

phone call beakers We have Agur's “lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any,” and we have Rogers's “know[ing] when to hold 'em.” After their welcome wears thin, the hapless guests find themselves barricaded unarmed in the main house under assault. They've got to hold the fort until help arrives or they can escape. Fortunately, the place is full of farm implements & chemicals. It's a MacGyver's paradise.

We have Agur's “king, against whom there is no rising up,” and we have Rogers's “Know[ing] when to fold 'em.” The king who knows when to give in to his subjects experiences no uprising. Ben takes a bad guy's long gun, but he better drop it when Paddy's got a hostage in hand.

dwarf goat We have Agur's “he goat also” and we have Rogers's “Know[ing] when to walk away.” The original holiday encounter can be walked away from. Just go home and get on with your life. They didn't have to accept the mailed invite that followed.

We have Agur's “greyhound” and Rogers's “Know[ing] when to run.” There comes a point when the hosts cross a line resulting in the guests' hasty retreat.

The gambler gave the advice:

You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.

And then there's the dumb reason why they have to turn around and go back.

Production Values

“” (2024) was written and directed by James Watkins. It was a remake of the 2022 Danish film of the same name. It stars James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy. Also featured is Jakob Højlev Jørgensen as Torsten. McAvoy is a choice malevolent alpha father. Davis and McNairy are spot-on as ordinary straitlaced victims of a deadly scheme. Aisling Franciosi shines as the complicit wife. The children were well coached.

MPA rated it R for some strong violence, language, some sexual content and brief drug use. It was filmed in part in Croatia. The easy out of a cell phone was avoided in the plot by limiting access on account of an incident of phone sex (“It was just text.”) Clues are nicely scattered along the way that this is not going to end well for the protagonists. The pace is steady but relentless. Runtime is 1 hour 50 minutes.

Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation

“Speak No Evil” is a fantastic psychological horror-thriller built around over politeness, a longing to connect and limits to peacekeeping. It kind of gets under the skin. The welfare of children plays a prominent part. Good job.

Movie Ratings

Action factor: Well done action flick. Suitability For Children: Not Suitable for Children of Any Age. Special effects: Average special effects. Video Occasion: Fit For a Friday Evening. Suspense: Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Overall movie rating: Four stars out of five.

Works Cited

Scripture is quoted from the King James Version. Pub. 1611, rev. 1769. Software.

Movie: Speak No Evil

Bible Based Review