Director: Martin Scorsese

Cast: Andrew Garfield, Liam Neeson, Adam Driver, Ciarán Hinds, Tadanobu Asano, Nana Komatsu

Rating: 15

Running Time: 161 mins

Release Date: January 1st, 2017

Where do you start with Scorsese’s long awaited, much talked about religious epic that charts the progress of two Jesuit priests as they attempt to spread the word of Christianity in Japan, all the while looking for their long lost mentor who, according to rumours, has disavowed God? Just that quick summary of the film would put most people off, those looking for the Scorsese who brought us the world of gangsters with GOODFELLAS and the depraved behaviour of Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill in THE WOLF OF WALL STREET should look elsewhere. This is a much more personal director, finally bringing to screen his ultimate passion project, the films rumoured 25-year journey to cinemas is a testament to Scorsese’s love of the material.

Andrew Garfield, sporting a dodgy accent that often slips back into his own native English accent, and Adam Driver are the priests on a mission to spread the love of Jesus through Japan and find their mentor, a largely miscast Liam Neeson. One quick discussion with their church and the two are sent off on their mission, sneaking around Japanese islands and hiding in huts from the locals who seek to drive out Christianity from Japan, led by Inquisitor Inoue, the head of this manhunt. This tense cat and mouse hunt takes up the majority of the film, with Scorsese framing the film like a horror story – THE WICKER MAN and it’s ever mounting, claustrophobic sense of terror is comparable. When the priests first arrive on their small boats and the islands loom up ahead of them, it’s terrifying.

More and more as the ever miserable lives of the villagers become apparent to the two priests and the horrifying situation they have been placed in becomes apparent, their faith is shaken as the helplessness of it all becomes apparent. But it’s too Scorsese’s skill and the original books writing that the film never becomes a slog in these first two hours – Garfield, given the much harder job of displaying an internal struggle of faith and reality, has to make a man’s crisis of faith compelling, even to people who might not necessarily believe in such things. His natural likability and affable appearance a perfect fit for Rodrigue’s struggle with faith and his determination to not let anything waver his loyalty to the church, despite the evidence mounting all around him that maybe his God isn’t there.

It’s unfortunate then that this stunning, beautiful to look at and exceptionally acted (despite some missteps) film struggles to keep itself afloat in its lofty ideals and the reigns that Scorsese so tightly had control off, loosen as the film settles in for its final 40 minutes. Slowing down to an unbearable crawl, the film settles into a repetitive rhythm of lots of wait and torturing, the kind that stops being shocking and immediately becomes dull – a card the film repeatably draws.

Several acts of violence are executed against people of the Christian faith, to the point where it becomes numbing. In it’s final stretch the film goes on an even longer search not just for God but for more screen time to fill up it’s 161 minute run time, what the film mistakes for pondering is actually boring. It’s a shame, as what had come before is a masterclass in execution, Scorsese proving that yes, this was worth the wait. Asking deep, personal questions and providing uncomfortable but affirming answers, SILENCE is a deeply human but flawed journey into faith and what it means to truly, deeply, really believe in something and, despite the grim tone, is ultimately uplifting.

Verdict

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