In a not-at-all surprising but surely encouraging bit of news, we finally have a release date forMartin Scorsese’sSilence. The movie has been in development for quite some time and will finally be hitting theaters this December, just in time for awards season consideration. Like many awards season movies,Silencewill initially have a limited release, followed by a much larger rollout in January.
Paramountmade the announcement thatSilencewill hit theaters on December 23, which means they have a lot of hope and confidence that the movie is Oscar worthy. Given that this is aMartin Scorsesemovie, not to mention the verypromising cast, that is to be expected. This has been a passion project for the legendary director who has been wanting to make the movie for more than two decades.Silenceis based onShûsaku Endô’s acclaimed 1966 novel of the same name. Here is a synopsis ofSilence, for those who may not know what all of the buzz is about.
“Seventeenth-century Japan: Two Portuguese Jesuit priests travel to a country hostile to their religion, where feudal lords force the faithful to publicly renounce their beliefs. Eventually captured and forced to watch their Japanese Christian brothers lay down their lives for their faith, the priests bear witness to unimaginable cruelties that test their own beliefs.”
Andrew GarfieldandAdam Driverare playing the two Jesuit priests in the movie. They are also joined byLiam Neesonwho is taking a break from action movies and plays their mentor. Having all of the talent is surely something Paramount is happy about, as the studio has had a pretty rough year so far. They had an abysmal summer withTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the ShadowsandBen-Hur, among other movies, tanking at the box office. While arthouse movies likeSilencedon’t often break the bank,Martin Scorsesemovies often do. Also, something with powerhouse talent, likeThe Revenantlast year, can transcend and find mass appeal, becoming big box office hits to go along with their award season prestige.
There is no word on the specific Januaryrelease dateforSilenceas of yet, but it will be facing some stiff competition. In December. It will be coming out on the same day asJ.A. Bayona’s critically acclaimedA Monster Calls, as well as some blockbusters likePassengersandAssassin’s Creed. Not to mentionRogue One: A Star Wars Storywill have only been out for a week. In January,Ben Affleck’s latest directorial effortLive By Nightwill also be expanding, soSilencecould have a tough time cutting through all of the noise. Not only that, but the movie reportedly is going to be around three hours long, which can be a bit off-putting to some moviegoers. In any case, this is a movie that will very likely be talked about quite a bit from now till the Academy Awards in February, and now you know when you can see it for yourself.
