Silence Becomes You

Silence Becomes You (2005)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Psychological thriller has Violet (Alicia Silverstone) luring a drifter (Joe Anderson) back to her house where she and her sister Grace (Siena Guillory) have some wicked plans. The two sisters appear to be trapped in the house by their child spirits and the drifter might have walked into a deadly game. The main reason for me recording this film was to see what Silverstone had been doing recently but unless you're a fan of hers then there's no real reason to watch this movie. I kept watching and watching hoping for something to make sense but it never did and the movie just kept getting more confusing as it went along. Even at the end of the flick I tried to make sense of what I had just watched and I still couldn't make head or tails out of it. I could pick this thing to death with various logical issues like how the two sisters aren't working and yet have everything they do but that would be pointless because there's one goof after another. The basic story of why the girl's need this drifter never makes any sense as it appears a big portion of the film was cut out leaving us with a big mess. The three actors turn in decent, if not good, performances but I'm not sure you can blame them too much since the screenplay offers very little. The thriller aspect of the film is never thriller and the erotic moments aren't any better. As Silverstone is still sticking by her "no nudity" clause, her sex scenes border on PG-rated as she always has her clothes on, which pretty much kills anything erotic. The complete film is a major mess from the start so it's best to stay clear or at least keep your fast-forward button near by.

It was an interesting premise for a movie, however, it had the tendency to lose it's impetus by attempting to be too art house. It captured the interest by keeping the watcher intent on working out exactly who was trying to achieve what and with whom but, more importantly why? It made for a kind of Charmed meets tortured soul effect, not, it has to be said a great combination for a movie. The dynamic of the sisters with their warped control freak father was nicely worked, leaving the watcher to draw their own conclusions about exactly what he got up to when mom wasn't looking.

Interesting boho kitsch costume for the girls and a nice stud muffin too!

Two sisters, Violet (Alicia Silverstone) and Grace (Sienna Guillory), very bounded to each other, live in an old mansion with ghosts of their past. Violet meets Luke (Joe Anderson) in a bar, and brings him to her mansion. Along the days, she seduces him, and they have sex many times as part of a plot with Grace. When Luke decides to leave the house with Violet, Grace tries to avoid, and Luke finds that they are trapped in the place.

This lame film gave me the sensation that a part is missing. I saw it on DVD, but if it was on VHS, I would believe that the tape might have broken and missed the part with the explanation of the plot of Grace and Violet. I am not sure if the screenplay is awful, or the characters are badly developed or both, but I was not able to understand the confuse story. The soundtrack in many parts is annoying, Alicia Silverstone is not sexy in the sex scenes, therefore nothing but the beautiful cinematography works in this awful direction. I would not recommend this flick even in a rainy and boring Saturday afternoon in Rio de Janeiro. My vote is two.

Title (Brazil): "Vítima da Sedução" ("Victim of the Seduction")

I discovered great images in this movie - they show a stunning set and production design with tons of details, the colors are awesome and you can really experience the new technique of shooting digitally uncompressed in these aspects. The three actors are doing a good job and the story has some interesting complex layers to discover. The role of Alicia Silverstone might not be the one that some people expect here, but she offers a new side with a totally new look and far away from all that we're used to. The two sisters seem to live in a kind of a fairy-tale-world and this draws the attention of the viewer through the whole movie. If you like the impression of great pictures in a movie, then watch this one!

Silence Becomes You was most likely one of the worst movies that I have seen of all time. The cast did a wonderful job, however the plot was confusing and not very entertaining. The picture and quality of the movie overall was good, however the messy plot, and the confusing events don't make up for the time I lost watching the movie. If the events weren't so scrambled, and more was explained, I feel the movie could have been a hell of a lot more interesting. I watched the movie, sadly, three times, just to understand the little bit of sense in which I made of it, and honestly, the only way I would ever watch this movie again is if I were to get it for free, or if I was locked in a windowless room for the rest of my life with nothing else to do.