Looks like Adam Driver’s sacrifice – and indeed that of the film’s core cast and crew – has not been in vain. The first wave of reactions are beginning to pour online for Martin Scorsese’s religious opus, Silence, with some claiming that the director’s latest could well be one of his best.
As collated by The Film Stage, these review snippets began to surface after Silence screened for a handful of critics across New York and Los Angeles. They weren’t the only ones to get an early peek at Scorsese’s long-awaited passion project either, as the director himself visited the Vatican earlier in the week to present Silence to Pope Francis and hundreds of priests and cardinals. No word on how the movie fared there, but thanks to the power of Twitter, we do have an overly positive sample of the critical consensus to peruse.
It’s been a long time coming, too, but at least based on these glowing reports, Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of Shūsaku Endō’s novel epic was certainly worth the wait. That being said, there are a few criticisms peppered across the Tweets.
Second screening revealed it to be one of Scorsese’s most beautifully structured & composed films. And made me appreciate Neeson a lot more.
— Life’s Scary Enough (@BilgeEbiri) November 30, 2016
SILENCE is absolutely staggering. Deserves to be compared to the masterworks of Ingmar Bergman. A serious film about faith under fire.
— Joshua Rothkopf (@joshrothkopf) November 30, 2016
Ok, real talk: Scorsese’s SILENCE is frustrating
— jen yamato (@jenyamato) November 30, 2016
@DrewMcWeeny I expect to be the lonely one here siding with the Japanese against the Jesuits and yet another white male journey of discovery
— jen yamato (@jenyamato) November 30, 2016
SILENCE is a tortured & fascinating examination of faith in all its forms. a valuable counterpoint to Shinoda’s film. being Jewish is chill.
— david ehrlich (@davidehrlich) December 1, 2016
Since everyone is confessing, after only one viewing, this former Catholic schoolboy is agnostic toward SILENCE.
— Ed Gonzalez (@certified_ed) November 30, 2016
Since we’re all sharing: SILENCE is an expertly crafted, severely morose crisis-of-faith drama. Stilted in parts but gorgeous and haunting.
— erickohn (@erickohn) December 1, 2016
(I actually loved the movie. But a lot of people don’t!)
— (((Jordan Hoffman))) (@jhoffman) December 1, 2016
Expect Silence to grace select theaters on December 23, before expanding nationwide in January. If you’re still pining for more content, Paramount has published samples from the film’s haunting score, which you can find through here.
