Amazing sense of unease and discomfort throughout. Anyone complaining about the end, that is the film driving the point. The passiveness and lack of action is exactly what the film is commenting on, being too soft, too "politically correct" (lack of a better phrase, even though it is actually said outright in the film), and too people-pleasing.
The fact that they come back twice, the fact that the father stares at the keys and does nothing, the fact that they comply in the last 3mins of the film when there is no true apparent threat... everything is trying to methaphorically explain that the comforts of middle class life really affect and wash out the vigor of adult/parental personality. The film does comment on the "old days" of aggressive and parental discipline, again pointing out that the other end of the spectrum is equally as horrible.
Sometimes, you want to recommend something for everything, but it's ending. Except, that's what leaves a lasting taste in your mouth. Speak No Evil is such a film. At the onset, a Danish and a Dutch couple meet while on vacation and the latter invite their new friends to spend a weekend with them that winter. The Danish family is as repressed as the Dutch one is wild and free (even chaotic). So when these virtual strangers share close quarters, frictions arise that in some cases are just culture clash. But the Danish husband is obviously looking for something in this budding bromance, yearning to deliver himself of whatever existential pain he carries. Not being at home, with hosts you don't feel secure with, is an anxiety the audience can well tap into, especially since each family has a child running around, being exposed to another parenting style. We know this will turn to horror (or at least thriller) because the ominous music tells us so. The actual turn is shocking and grim, but unfortunately, I don't think it's what we were really leading up to, and the villains' motivations are extremely underwritten. If liberation was the theme, then that needed to be addressed in the ending. Instead, a cursory statement and some horror moments. The first two acts are much well acted and balanced between what's normal and what's sinister that it's a shame it had to exhaust itself like that.
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mcmakattack
I love how tension is built by making us wonder if they are psychopaths or just Dutchguffaa88
Amazing sense of unease and discomfort throughout. Anyone complaining about the end, that is the film driving the point. The passiveness and lack of action is exactly what the film is commenting on, being too soft, too "politically correct" (lack of a better phrase, even though it is actually said outright in the film), and too people-pleasing.The fact that they come back twice, the fact that the father stares at the keys and does nothing, the fact that they comply in the last 3mins of the film when there is no true apparent threat... everything is trying to methaphorically explain that the comforts of middle class life really affect and wash out the vigor of adult/parental personality. The film does comment on the "old days" of aggressive and parental discipline, again pointing out that the other end of the spectrum is equally as horrible.
In general, an extremely effective film
mrjellow
Karl Popper - ''in order to maintain a tolerant society, the society must be intolerant of intolerance.”Speak No Evil serves as a metaphor: when one becomes too politically correct, too soft, those who wish harm upon others seize the opportunity.
Siskoid
Sometimes, you want to recommend something for everything, but it's ending. Except, that's what leaves a lasting taste in your mouth. Speak No Evil is such a film. At the onset, a Danish and a Dutch couple meet while on vacation and the latter invite their new friends to spend a weekend with them that winter. The Danish family is as repressed as the Dutch one is wild and free (even chaotic). So when these virtual strangers share close quarters, frictions arise that in some cases are just culture clash. But the Danish husband is obviously looking for something in this budding bromance, yearning to deliver himself of whatever existential pain he carries. Not being at home, with hosts you don't feel secure with, is an anxiety the audience can well tap into, especially since each family has a child running around, being exposed to another parenting style. We know this will turn to horror (or at least thriller) because the ominous music tells us so. The actual turn is shocking and grim, but unfortunately, I don't think it's what we were really leading up to, and the villains' motivations are extremely underwritten. If liberation was the theme, then that needed to be addressed in the ending. Instead, a cursory statement and some horror moments. The first two acts are much well acted and balanced between what's normal and what's sinister that it's a shame it had to exhaust itself like that.