NEW YORK (OSV News) — A powerful performance from James McAvoy drives the hard-edged psychological thriller “Speak No Evil” (Universal). While the film also showcases how extraordinary adversity and extreme peril might help reinforce frayed marital bonds, the experiences that lead to this outcome do not constitute casual entertainment.
McAvoy plays charming but twitchy British MD Paddy. While Paddy, his wife, Ciara (Aisling Franciosi), and their mute young son Ant (Dan Hough) are on vacation in Italy, they strike up an acquaintance with American tourists Louise (Mackenzie Davis) and Ben Dalton (Scoot McNairy) as well as with the Daltons’ insecure preteen daughter, Agnes (Alix West Lefler).
The Daltons are temporarily based in London. So when Paddy enthusiastically invites them to visit his family at their remote farmhouse in the English countryside, they eventually decide to take him up on it — partly as a means of easing the tensions that have resulted from Louise’s recent flirtation with infidelity.
Only belatedly do the houseguests discover that Paddy and Ciara are concealing a number of dark secrets, some of which have to do with Ant.
In adapting a 2022 Danish film, writer-director James Watkins explores just how wrong a weekend away from it all can go. The increasingly intense mayhem culminates in a morally ambiguous wrap-up that tries to have it both ways where appealing to viewers’ baser instincts is concerned.
Thus one character makes the mature decision to forgo vengeance. But another — more aggrieved and less ethically developed — opts to exact a gruesome retribution. The audience is simultaneously invited to respect the former choice but enjoy the latter to the full.
Mature moviegoers with a high tolerance for havoc and the discernment to see the double game Watkins plays at the climax of the action may appreciate “Speak No Evil.” Those in search of simple diversion, by contrast, should avoid this tale of a rural idyll gone horrifically wrong.
The film contains much harsh and sometimes gory violence, a brief revenge theme, drug use, fleeting partial nudity, edgy sexual references and behavior, about a half-dozen profanities, several milder oaths, pervasive rough language and occasional crude and crass dialogue. The OSV News classification is L — limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
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