Susan and I went to see A Quiet Place: Day One today. Wow! It was intense. It’s a suspenseful drama from the opening scene to the last. Lupita Nyong’o plays the lead character, Sam – an edgy hospice patient with a clear appreciation for the transient nature of our life on Earth. Her co-star is Frodo, her cat, played by two felines – Schnitzel and Nico, and a stuffed cat stand-in for some scenes.
Her human co-star is Joseph Quinn as character Eric. The chemistry between Nyong’o and Quinn is excellent as they navigate caring for one another – each a total stranger to the other.
The score is designed to maximize suspense and fear. It does well on both counts. Most of the soundscape consists of the sounds of destruction (crashing, glass breaking, cars being overturned, people screaming, running humans, rampaging aliens, and shit blowing up). As I said in the opening above – non-stop suspense.
The injured, sick, terrified, children, and small animals are all very sympathetic characters. Sam, Eric and Frodo fit into one or more of these categories through the course of the story.
The Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer gave this movie a score of 87%. The audience score was 73%. I would say that it deserves a 90%+. If you don’t catch this flick in the theater, catch it on your favorite streaming service. You won’t be disappointed.