Joel Kinnaman Avenges His Dead Child – IndieWire
All is quiet on the night before Christmas, but John Woo is ready to come in with a bloody bang.
In Woo’s first U.S. film in 20 years, “Silent Night,” Joel Kinnaman plays a father who witnesses his son die in a shooting on Christmas Eve. The almost dialogue-free film stars Catalina Sandino Moreno, Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi and Harold Torres.
The dark revenge story follows a tormented father (Kinnaman) who witnesses his young son die when he is caught in a gang’s crossfire on Christmas Eve. As he recovers from a wound that left him without his voice, he makes revenge his life’s mission and begins a punishing training program to avenge his son’s death.
The original screenplay was written by Robert Archer Lynn.
“It was a very clever script and the story really touched me [because] I have three kids,” Woo said Weekly entertainment. “The biggest challenge is how to get the audience to accept a story without dialogue, move them from the story, and make them realize they are not missing anything.”
Director Woo returned to making films in China after directing 2003’s “Paycheck” starring Ben Affleck. The “Face/Off” director helmed the Chinese feature films “The Crossing” and its sequel “The Crossing 2” in 2014 and 2015, respectively, before directing the 2017 police thriller “Manhunt.”
Lead actor Kinnaman told IndieWire back in 2012 that he chooses projects based on the director.
“I was always looking for the good work, the real work. “I have always aspired to work with a good director,” said Swedish-American star Kinnaman. “Of course, at the beginning of my first projects in the USA, I made some decisions that were purely career planning.”
“Silent Night” is produced by “John Wick” producers Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee for Thunder Road. Christian Mercuri for Capstone and Lori Tilkin for A Better Tomorrow Films are also producing. Executive producers are David Haring, Joe Gatta and Ruzanna Kegeyan for Capstone and Mike Gabraw and Will Flynn for Thunder Road.
“Silent Night” premieres in Lionsgate theaters on December 1st. Check out the trailer below.