It’s the End of the World in Apocalyptic Christmas Comedy ‘Silent Night’

Sandra Miska

With the uncertain times we are living in, it’s only natural that the apocalypse should not be far from the thoughts of many, including filmmakers. Recent films like “How It Ends” and the upcoming “Don’t Look Up” have used humor to grapple with the end of days, and now Christmas doomsday comedy “Silent Night” has arrived. Keira Knightley, a holiday film legend thanks to her early role in “Love, Actually,” leads a stellar ensemble cast here as Nell, a wife and mother hosting the holiday for some of her closest friends and their families at her country home. What starts off as an offbeat comedy about a colorful cast of characters turns into something else when it is revealed that a poisonous cloud, caused by global warming, is sweeping the world and about to hit their neck of the woods. Faced with the choice of taking a government-issued “exit pill” or dying in agony, the group tries to make the most of their last evening on earth, but old feelings and new revelations get the best of them

Like any hostess on a major holiday, Nell, although she gets some help from her husband Simon (Matthew Goode) and oldest son Art (Roman Griffin Davis), is busy until the last possible moment. We feel her anxiety as she admits to her old school friend, self-absorbed Sandra (Annabelle Wallis), that she forgot to buy the sticky toffee pudding, a staple at any English Christmas dinner and a favorite of Kitty’s (Davida McKenzie), Sandra’s daughter. When Sandra mentions splurging Kitty’s college fund on a fancy pair of shoes, it is the first sign that something is amiss. Off screen, Simon and Tony (Rufus Jones), Sandra’s husband, break into a grocery store to get the dessert, another strange act. The two families are soon joined by another old chum, sardonic Bella (Lucy Punch) and her longtime girlfriend, recovering alcoholic Alex (Kirby Howell-Baptiste). Rounding out the friend bunch is mild-mannered doctor James (Sope Dirisu) and his younger American girlfriend, Sophie (Lily-Rose Depp), the outsider here. An empath with progressive viewpoints, she rubs the others, particularly Sandra, the wrong way at times.

Both Annabelle Wallis and Roman Griffin Davis spoke with Entertainment Voice about “Silent Night.” “I had no idea,” said Wallis if she knew what she was getting into when she was first given the script. “My agent shares an office with Keira Knightley’s agent… I read it, and I just fell madly in love with what was on the page… I really resonated with it. It was saying something important about our planet and where we’re heading. That’s what drew me.”

Griffin Davis had an even closer connection to the project, as it was written and directed by his mother, Camille Griffin. He recalled how his mom would read scenes over the dinner table. “I started picturing myself in it. I think everyone does that when they watch a film. I really liked the idea of it. I liked how courageous it was, and how unique it was.”

A centerpiece scene takes place when the whole group is sitting down for their big holiday meal. Griffin and the actors do an excellent job of creating rising tension as the characters try to stick to lighthearted topics before the conversation takes a turn. While the adults go back and forth, mainly focusing their frustrations on Sophie, Art has a colorful exchange with Kitty. 

Griffin Davis worked not only with his mother, but also his younger twin brothers, Gilby and Hardy Griffin Davis, who play Art’s brothers. “I thought it’d be weird,” he said when asked about working with his family. “Silent Night” is his second feature after his impressive debut playing the title role in “Jojo Rabbit.” “But I guess because I’m new to acting, I don’t know what it’s like to work without them. I hope in a couple of years, after I’ve maybe done a couple more projects, I’ll look back and go, ‘That was really weird.’ I’m really happy for my mom. She’s been trying to make a film for ages and ages. I didn’t want to muck it up for her. There was a lot of pressure there.”

The actor went on to discuss the part of the dinner scene in which he curses at McKenzie. He said it was only awkward due to his close friendship with his co-star in real life. “No. It probably should be, but we swear a lot in my house,” he admitted when asked if it felt funny for him to use strong language in front of his mother. “Whenever I watch it, everyone comes up to me and talks about the swearing part. I didn’t realize, because it’s normal to me, a dysfunctional family swearing.”

After the meal, there’s a major tonal shift. According to Wallis, the film was shot in sequence, which was beneficial when it came to escalating the tension and heightening emotions. The fact that they shot in the same house, having tea together in a makeshift green room between scenes, also helped foster connections that made playing lifelong friends feel natural.

“I think I just played the truth, you know?” Said the actress when asked about shifting from comedy to drama. “It’s such a fortunate thing when you’re allowed to play in sequence, because you just start to slowly really feel the shift in all the characters at the same time. You don’t have to go back and rewind. You just stay in the truth. That was what was happening. That was the world that we created, the sets, the lighting, the shifts in time. It was very easy to hang on to the truth.”

A memorable scene comes after dinner when Sandra reminds James of their past closeness and makes a confession of love, almost oblivious to the fact that her husband and James’ partner are in the room with them.

“It was a hard scene. It has a lot of transitions and a lot of emotional transitions. It was a hard one to get right, just because I naturally wouldn’t have handled it like Sandra handled it,” Wallis recalled with a laugh. “To hit all those beats and to try and keep it as honest as possible was a challenge, but I was lucky that everyone in the scene was so generous and held the space so well, so it became easier than I thought.”

She continued, “Sandra is the part of you that you want to pretend you’re not like, but you are, and that you should learn to embrace and love, because, really, it’s the part of you that’s hurting slightly that is crying out for help. There’s such beauty in people like that who are so able to be vulnerable and honest, because they’re really just doing what we wish we were able to do, but we’re too scared. They’re actually the braver ones, I find.”

Art also proves to be brave in his own way, and Griffin Davis does a fine job as playing him as the heart of film. Even while facing doomsday, he has time to think of others, including homeless people and undocumented immigrants who don’t have access to the exit pill. He also finds it in himself to be a comfort to Sophie, a woman he barely knows, after she reveals to him that she is pregnant, which causes her to be distressed about taking the pill. The pair appear to have found kindred spirits in each other, and Depp lets her maternal side shine through, and Griffin Davis’ performance is full of compassion.

“I like to hope so,”said Griffin Davis when asked if he feels like he’s like Art. “I feel like I have to say yes. Otherwise, I sound like I’m a bit evil. Yeah, I do. It’s a big issue, how we treat the underrepresented. I genuinely do.”

“Silent Night” has an urgency to it, as the gas cloud is a man-made disaster. It also hits differently post-Covid than it probably would have otherwise. According to Wallis, shooting as the world was shutting down in the days leading up to lockdown affected the mood on set.

“We were shooting in sequence this film that has an impending doom after we messed up the earth, and it was happening around us,” she recalled. “We definitely carried that energy on the set. We didn’t know if we were going to be told if we would be able to go to work the next day, if we could fly home, or what was going to happen. It was tricky. We didn’t know when we would work again once that happened. I think a lot of that tension was just natural.”

Art’s story culminates in the most chilling scene in the film. After arguing with Nell and Simon about whether or not to take the pill, he flees and ends up by a parked car, inside which are a whole family who have died. After weeks of hearing about it on the news and online, he has come face to face with the cruel reality of what is happening.

Griffin Davis revealed that although the family was actually being played by friends of his mother’s, the fright he felt was very real. “It was pretty horrific to see people who looked dead. Occasionally, I’d have to tell myself they’re acting… It was hard doing that scene. I had to scream a lot… By the end of it, my voice box was in pain. It was fun to do, but it was quite hard as well. I find scenes where I have to scream, I’ll start screaming, and I’ll feel ridiculous.” 

Speaking of a possible sequel, the actor admitted that he would be unsure about being in a film set in a post-apocalyptic world. “Personally, if there were zombies, I’d run away. Even if I knew they were actors, I’d probably run off set. I probably wouldn’t be the best actor for that genre.”

Finally, Wallis and Griffin Davis both revealed how they would spend Christmas if it was their last day on earth.

“I would have everything,” said Wallis. “I would eat everything. I would drink everything, I would dance to everything. I don’t know what I’d do. I’d probably try to do it all and unfortunately pass out before the night even began (laughs). That’s basically me at Christmas.”

“I’d probably have a panic attack and try to do everything I wasn’t able to do or wanted to do,” said Griffin Davis. He lists martial arts as one of the possible activities he would give a try. “I would probably waste most of my last day, if I’m being honest. On the other hand, I would probably just watch a lot of films.”

“Silent Night” releases Dec. 3 on AMC+ and in select theaters.