Silent Night is a 2023 action thriller film directed by John Woo, from a screenplay by Robert Archer Lynn. The concept of the film is unique as it includes no dialogue whatsoever with the story being driven solely by sight and sound. Principal photography began April 2022 in Mexico City, but was delayed due to an on set injury involving a crew member. The film is Woo's first American feature film since Paycheck (2003).
A gritty revenge tale of a tormented father who witnesses his young son die when caught in a gang’s crossfire on Christmas Eve. While recovering from a wound that costs him his voice, he makes vengeance his life’s mission and embarks on a punishing training regimen in order to avenge his son’s death.
The cast includes Joel Kinnaman, Scott Mescudi, Harold Torres, and Catalina Sandino Moreno.
In an interview with Vulture, Woo talked about the uniqueness of the film:
"Very interesting movie. The whole movie is without dialogue. It allowed me to use visuals to tell the story, to tell how the character feels. We are using music instead of language. And the movie is all about sight and sound. The budget was a little tight, and the schedule was tight, but it made me change my working style. Usually, for a big movie, a studio movie, we shoot a lot of coverage, then leave it to the cutting room. But in this movie, I tried to combine things without doing any coverage shots. I had to force myself to use a new kind of technique. Some scenes were about two or three pages, but I did it all in one shot."
