A quiet place: Day oneA prequel to John Krasinski’s post-apocalyptic series about blind aliens with supernatural hearing, it premiered in theaters in June. It was okay. The film is set on the first day of the invasion, chronicling the early days of New York City as humanity desperately tries to survive. Black Panther‘s Lupita Nyong’o and Strange things‘Joseph Quinn is a strong lead, first day I appreciated it when it delved into tragedy and the need for human connection in the worst of times, even if it did get caught up in the rhythm of cheap deaths and predictable set pieces. But now that I’ve seen the deleted scenes that would have added more depth to Quinn’s character, I see it as a missed opportunity to talk about the need for human connection when deadly monsters aren’t raining down from the sky.
Content Warning: Suicide
The scene in question has been premiered. In ~ peopleAnd it shows Queen’s character Eric telling Nyong’o’s Samira why he was dressed in a suit and tie on the day of the invasion. At first, Samira asks if he’s on his way to a job interview, but his destination isn’t all that promising.
He tells her that he came to New York City to “be accepted” and not to be in the small town where he grew up. He says his father “had an idea of ​​the son he wanted,” but he didn’t. He says people in New York don’t care about “that part” of him, but he still feels so alone in the city. “I don’t have a home anywhere. I was really tired of feeling alone, and I was bored of feeling alone. So I thought it would be easier not to live anywhere.”
The implication here is that Eric, a gay man, was not accepted in his hometown and still felt lonely after coming to New York. He planned to end it all before the disaster began. In an interview Film SpeakDirector Michael Sarnowski has acknowledged Eric’s queerness and has said that he intentionally did not want the film’s leads to have a romantic relationship, but I’m really disappointed that this scene didn’t make it into the final film, because it’s not only well-acted, but it speaks so deeply to the truth of the character’s situation.
As a gay I moved to New York City for the same reason.And I felt a similar loneliness that Eric described. I would not have been able to find comfort in this scene in the theater. Small-town gays dream of moving to the city and finding people, and of course there are days when I feel that way, but there are also times when I struggle with the feeling that I haven’t found my home yet. When you’re in an overwhelming city, there’s a culture shock compared to where you used to be, and the life you want to live is still out of reach, even if it’s within walking distance. But it can take time to find, and I know what it must have been like for Eric as he headed to the subway just before the invasion. It’s a shame that fewer people see this scene, buried in the special features of digital copies.
A quiet place: Day one Now streaming on digital platforms.
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