I usually successfully dodge the vast majority of movie crap, but here and there I step on a few. This is one of those awful, diarrheic movie shits that I wish I could have bypassed, but probably out of masochism I watched “Silent Night” all the way to the end. I was interested in how this stupid story with a constellation of irritating and stereotypical characters would unfold, and it unfolded just as I expected. Stupid. Nominally, this is some combination of black comedy, survivalist film, disaster film, drama, supposedly horror. However, there is nothing funny and witty here, nothing particularly dramatic, and feature film debutant Camille Griffin threw everything and anything at it.
It starts almost like that typical bland British holiday romantic comedy. All the more because there is Keira Knightley, who appears in almost every movie since the movie. Nell (Knighteley) and her husband Simon (Matthew Goode) organize a joint gathering with family and friends, as they do every Christmas. While a whole constellation of buffoons arrives at their beautiful and luxurious secluded house, we slowly realize that this is no ordinary celebration and that it is something different compared to previous years. Very different, because the end of the world has not yet arrived and a huge, toxic cloud is approaching Britain and all the inhabitants have been given a pill by the authorities that guarantees them a painless death in contrast to the suffering that this poisonous vapor may bring them from which there is no escape.
And everyone acts as if everything is normal at first. They argue, gossip about each other, drink. There are also spoiled kids who can’t stand each other. At one point it seemed to me that it would be another remake of the Italian blockbuster “Complete Strangers”, and then it became clear what was happening. And while everyone unquestioningly decided to euthanize themselves with a pill, the only one who is against such an option is Nell and Simon’s son Art (the kid from Jojo Rabbit). When the viewer understands what is going on, the rest of the film will pass in pathos, mutual forgiveness, recognition of various secrets they hid from each other, wisecracks, whining, feigned kindness. Once the moment came to start swallowing the pills, I felt an incredible relief because I realized that this cinematic stranglehold was coming to an end, and the final surprise that was prepared for us was actually quite expected.