June Movie Pick: 'A Quiet Place: Day One'

I have mixed feelings about this one, folks. Spoilers ahead. I went into the cinema expecting something else. On one hand, I was positively surprised that the movie turned out to be so romantic that my head started spinning. On the other hand, I was a bit disappointed that the movie affected me so deeply. It was one of the most romantic apocalyptic movies I have ever seen. But how can someone be mad at something done so beautifully? It’s an extremely romantic film that got me right in the feels. I think the 15 people watching with me were also crying. All I could hear during those incredibly touching scenes with Lupita Nyong'o and Edi from "Stranger Things" were the sounds of hearts breaking and sniffles from the audience, and for that, I have to congratulate the director.

This time around, it wasn't Mr. Magic, John Krasinski, who proved himself as a director with the last two movies. The torch for the third entry was passed to director Michael Sarnoski. We follow Lupita with her amazing cat, which you expect the whole time to make a sound and die. Every second of the movie with that cat on the screen was like a ticking bomb ready to explode and attract the herd of those aliens. Nyong'o's personal struggle was a huge surprise that worked beautifully here. Also, her health condition felt like another bomb waiting to explode, which is another clever touch that made me sympathize with the main character. Who says that only one struggle is enough and nothing bad could happen to you after or during?

The whole movie felt like you are expecting these bombs to explode. Because it is somehow a prequel, you know what is about to happen, and mixed with the condition of the main character as well as her pet, your nerves are on edge the whole time. We see some familiar faces from the last movie, and it is fun exploring those connections. We are all burned out on franchises at this point, but exploring different stories from different places in the world would be a nice direction to take. Here, the love that streams between Joseph Quinn and Nyong'o is magnetic. I am pretty sure that his character was actually gay and their love was absolutely platonic, which made it even more heartbreaking because we don’t see that very often. Yet, the romance in the interaction between those two, the cat, and their chemistry is mind-blowing. You realize how special the human next to you is in such a problem, how much we need each other, and how important these connections are between us and our loved ones. The movie easily portrays these needs in difficult times, exploring different levels of pain by pushing the characters to overcome their fears and come out the other side.

The whole time, because of the cat, I was reminded of my dog Bobby, who was alone at home. Due to the small amount of dialogue, the movie was really quiet. Sometimes, I even stopped myself from eating popcorn because I didn’t want to ruin the experience for the people around me. The love in this movie is so powerful, and the actors are so good that despite my small disappointment with the direction taken, I just can’t wait to see this movie and explore more of this world.

Iliya Badev