If you can endure the tension in “Speak No Evil,” you'll enjoy it
“Speak No Evil” is the sort of movie you endure more than enjoy.
It’s painful in the moment, but you feel like you’ve accomplished something by the end. Certainly director James Watkins has. His remake of the 2022 Danish film of the same name is unsettling, unpleasant, at times a watch-through-your-fingers exercise in nervous tension.
It’s also pretty good.
Certainly, James McAvoy is certifiably bonkers, in a performance so intense it’s hard to shake. In some situations this might be considered a spoiler; in this case we have been subjected to so many commercials for so long giving away so much of what happens in the movie that it’s not. And it’s not like Paddy, McAvoy’s character, is the picture of stability from the start.
What is 'Speak No Evil' about?
Paddy and Ciara (Aisling Franciosi), along with their son Ant (Dan Hough), meet another family while on holiday in Tuscany; Paddy introduces himself by taking their poolside lounge chair. Paddy and Ciara are British, and they invite Americans Ben (Scoot McNairy) and Louise (Mackenzie Davis), along with their daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler), who are living in London, to visit them at their home in the countryside.
There is clearly some strife between Ben and Louise, unresolved tension that is often exacerbated by Ben’s unemployment, along with his tendency to be a formless wet blanket. Throw him into a rustic country house with an alpha male like Paddy, who is all amped up, all the time, and he nearly disappears.
Paddy is the sort who will say and do any number of rude and even violent things, then turn any questions or criticisms about his behavior back on his accusers until they’re the ones who sound defensive.
Ant doesn’t speak; Paddy says he has a disorder that makes his tongue smaller than normal. Paddy is hard on Ant. There is one scene in which Agnes and Ant have worked out a dance to show the grown-ups. Paddy grinds it to a halt several times, excoriating Ant for not performing his part well enough. It’s ugly, and it’s clear that both Ant and Ciara are used to this kind of thing.
Ciara, meanwhile, thinks nothing of telling Agnes she has to eat her vegetables and needs to stop chewing with her mouth full. Louise is understandably angered by someone else telling her daughter how to act. But again, Paddy has excuses at the ready.
Paddy drags Ben along to hunt foxes. Although he has an animal in his sights, Ben can’t bring himself to pull the trigger. Paddy unexpectedly comforts him, and says, “It’s never been about the kill for me. It’s always been about the hunt.” Then they have one of those bro-fest screaming sessions you might see in a Tucker Carlson video.
You won't forget James McAvoy's performance
Eventually, several incidents, large and small, convince Ben and Louise that they need to leave. Frustratingly believable events conspire to bring them back, where Paddy guilts them into staying a while longer. At this point you reflect on earlier exchanges, like when in Tuscany Paddy grosses out a couple they don’t want to sit with them.
“You’re terrible,” Ben says, laughing. “You don’t know the half of it,” Paddy replies.
Watkins does a superb job of keeping the audience on edge; a loud noise can launch you from your seat once things get going. McNairy convincingly plays a maddeningly milquetoast character whose indecision infuriates his wife and, by extension, the audience. Davis is the movie’s secret weapon, at times the only adult in the whole movie with any sense or sanity.
But it is McAvoy you will remember, because you won’t be able to forget his full-throttle performance. Ever been around one of those people whose energy radiates so much that it puts you on edge just to be around them? Imagine that type of person in a film, whose intensity leaps off the screen and makes you nervous just to watch.
That’s McAvoy here. His Paddy repulses you, even as McAvoy defies you to look away. “Speak No Evil” rises and falls on his ability to keep you hooked, which means it mostly rises.
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'Speak No Evil' 4 stars
Great ★★★★★ Good ★★★★
Fair ★★★ Bad ★★ Bomb ★
Director: James Watkins.
Cast: James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNairy.
Rating: R for some strong violence, language, some sexual content and brief drug use.
How to watch: In theaters Friday, Sept. 13.
Reach Goodykoontz at [email protected]. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. X: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Speak No Evil' review: Relentlessly tense and utterly gripping