Knock at the Cabin

So a new M. Night Shyamalan movie has been released and that means that once again the internet will be split. Shyamalan has a reputation for big twists and risks that sometimes pay off and sometimes don’t. He in fact owes me 15 mediocre movies to make up for the existence of Avatar the Last Airbender. Knock at the Cabin did accomplish one of those spots.

The element that was most prevalent in this film was the acting. Obviously the casting was great and I think a lot of people at this point are at the very least intrigued by Dave Batista’s acting ability. The thing that naturally happens when people talk about Dave Batista is he inevitably gets compared to The Rock, as they are both wrestlers turned “actors”, Actors is in air quotes because Dave Batista has the acting ability of someone who actually went to school to study acting and The Rock has the acting ability of an actual rock. Though I love Jonathan Groff and he was of course fantastic, but Batista stole the show. He truly carried the movie. Dave had an excellent opportunity to be the sweet teddy bear he naturally is while also being able to utilize his size and convey intimidation at the same time. Kristen Cui who played Wen was an incredible addition to the cast. She gave so much emotion and subtly in her face and voice and was truly captivating. As a young actress where this was her first real breakout role she was absolutely incredible. The acting was by far the best part of the movie.

Now the story simply could have done more. A writer like Shyamalan who is known for his twists has set expectations for his audiences. That said the story really didn’t have a twist, it was exactly what it seemed to be. Now that's not necessarily a bad thing because the story itself was at the very least not bad. It was nothing spectacular but it was simple and gave the entire cast a wonderful opportunity to shine.

The last thing of note about this film was the editing and cinematography. Yes these things are technically separate elements but they go hand in hand so I am putting them together. The film made some really awesome framing choices that really highlighted both the eeriness of the story and the acting of whoever was in the frame. It also held shots for a long time, I feel like a lot of films now cut back and forth a lot so it stands out when the camera hangs on to a shot for a longer period of time. Overall I think they handled the cinematography and the editing in a way that enhanced the story. The cinematography was easily the second best part of the movie.

Overall I think the movie was a 6/10, not anything spectacular but it was a good movie that showcased incredible acting. The acting was the focus in a way that wasn’t oscar-baity like most serious acting movies. For an M. Night Shyamalan movie it was pretty good, something I respect about him as a filmmaker is that he takes big risks and sometimes they pay off and sometimes they don’t but for the most part that doesn’t stop him from pushing the boundaries of storytelling. I think this story was pretty tame for him but he poured his creativity into other aspects of the film and it really made the movie stronger. I would re-watch this movie, but of course I had to rank it hard because last year there were so many good movies and I thought I should be harder on films this year.