Silent Night: John Woo’s Unique Return to Hollywood

Dec 27

Silent Night: John Woo’s Unique Return to Hollywood

Having not made a Hollywood film since 2003’s ‘Paycheck,’ many people were eagerly looking forward to John Woo’s 2023 comeback, ‘Silent Night.’ In the December 1st release, which features a moving score by Marco Beltrami and an almost complete lack of dialogue, Joel Kinnaman stars as electrician Brian Godlock.

The movie begins with the needless death of Brian’s son, who is caught in the crossfire of a gang conflict as he plays in the front yard on Christmas Eve. The rest of the movie continues through Brian’s injury and recovery, along with his journey as he prepares to take revenge for his son’s death on the following Christmas Eve- in other words, the first anniversary of his son’s death. It is a gripping process from beginning to end.

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Now 77, John Woo has long been known as a highly influential figure in the action film genre, and is considered one of the major figures of Hong Kong cinema. Born in mainland China amid the chaos of the Communist Revolution, his family fled to Hong Kong when he was five.

Growing up amid poverty and health problems from a young age, Woo found solace and a way to express himself through cinema. He has said that he found making movies a way to explore his feelings and way of thinking. Starting his career as a script supervisor and working his way up, Woo was inspired my early films like Bruce Lee’s ‘The Big Boss.’ Beginning his movie-making with 1974’s ‘The Young Dragons,’ Woo continued to make films throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, many of which starred actor Chow Yun-Fat. His big major international recognition came with 1989’s ‘The Killer,’ which earned him somewhat a cult following in America. With obvious breaks, he has continued to make films to this day.

Contrary to John Woo’s past history of often highly-stylized violence, AKA his usual style of ‘gun fu’, the action sequences in ‘Silent Night’ are more raw and emotional, resulting in some highly impactful scenes. Also not as present were the hallmarks of slow-motion shots and flocks of doves in flight. However, as an homage to the doves from Woo’s previous movies, the fictional Texas town in which the movie is set is called Las Palomas.

As to John Woo hallmarks that WERE included were the themes and the intense gunfights. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, Woo’s action films were often known as “heroic bloodshed” movies, a theme that generally involves the Chinese Triads. This concept is seen extensively in a different way in ‘Silent Night,’ as the viewer follows along through Brian’s bloody slayings of all the gang members involved in his son’s slaying, including the gang leader, Playa.

The fight scenes that take place in the gang’s warehouse are particularly intense, as first Brian alone and then Brian and Detective Vassel fight their way to the top. As for the themes, ones that are often present in Woo films are loyalty, honor, and brotherhood. These are embodied and visible throughout Brian’s entire journey; we see his loyalty and love to his family, and his sense of honor in doing justice to his son’s memory. It makes for a compelling experience.

While this movie doesn’t necessarily live up to some of Woo’s other outings, at least in terms of visuals, it is a compelling film nonetheless. The visual elements may have been drab, but their gritty nature matches the grimmer, less bombastic storyline. Likewise, the action is more brutal and gorier than Woo’s earlier Hong Kong offerings, sometimes described as “bullet ballets.” In the end, one can say that it is certainly worth a watch.

Ultimate verdict? 7 out of 10.

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