In ‘Silent Night’ (in theaters December 14, 2023), Joel Kinnaman plays family father Brian Godlock, who must watch helplessly as his son is killed by stray bullets in a gang fight on Christmas. Seriously wounded after being shot in the larynx and deprived of the ability to speak, Godlock then has only one goal: revenge! He prepares for a year so that he can go to war against the gangs next Christmas.
Even though ‘Silent Night’ has its weaknesses, John Woo proves in a series of strong action scenes that he still has what he can do and it is not without reason that he is one of the greatest genre directors in history. John Woo is now 77 years old and hasn’t worked in Hollywood in 20 years and the sci-fi disappointment “Paycheck”. When we meet him for an interview in a Los Angeles hotel, we can see that he has visibly aged and needs a cane. At first he chooses his words very carefully and speaks the first words slowly. But you soon feel that the fire inside him continues to burn. With enthusiasm and more and more gestures, he explains what makes ‘Silent Night’ so special in his eyes and what ideas he used to improve the ‘smart’ script.
In the interview he also talks about why he changed his action style for ‘Silent Night’ and why his new film is more reminiscent of ‘John Wick’ than previous heroic bloodshed masterpieces like ‘The Killer’, ‘A Better Tomorrow’ or ‘Hard ‘. Cooked”. Speaking of “The Killer”: we are of course also talking about its remake…
Finally a script that John Woo was excited about
John Woo: After filming ‘Paycheck’ I was a little frustrated. Because there were simply no good scripts left for me in the US. Then a few Chinese manufacturers asked me if I could help them. At that time, Chinese films did not yet have a global market. They wanted me to make a film for them that could reach a global audience. That’s why I went back to China.
I’ve done Red Cliff, I’ve done The Crossing, I’ve done a few Chinese films. Some of them were pretty good, some were bad. But I always wanted to do something smaller. Since I became a famous film director, I only get offered big action films, but I was looking for a more human story. So when I got the script for “Silent Night,” I was thrilled because it’s really different from anything I’ve done before. And then the script was so clever – a whole script without any dialogue!
That immediately appealed to me because it increases the challenge. I can only use images and sounds to tell a story. I was immediately very enthusiastic about it.
John Woo: I made a few minor changes, especially in the main action scene. The location we found for filming was very different from the location described in the script, so changes were necessary. But the biggest change of all happens at the end of the film. There is a scene where Godlock is shot and looks at the golden ball. This again reflects his son’s story – from birth to age five. This scene was completely my idea. I think it works very well.
New style for John Woo: Chaotic hard fighting instead of elegance
John Woo: We tell a very tragic and sad story of an innocent boy who was murdered by gangsters. That’s why I thought my film should feel more realistic. That’s why I used a different style and technique for the action scenes, which makes them different.
I used to want my action scenes to feel really big. There couldn’t be enough bullets, there couldn’t be too many shootings and explosions. I wanted to reduce that, it always had to feel real. That’s why I liked to use a long take here without interruptions. This also makes the action more realistic and intense, every punch and blow seems more real and the audience can feel the effect.
I changed my style not only because it fit the story well, but also because it better suited our main character. He is not a superhero, not a super fighter, not a professional killer. He is a real person, an ordinary man who fights with anger in his stomach. Therefore, the action should not be too exaggerated and extravagant.
John Woo: We all learn from each other. At the beginning of my career I was very inspired by Western films, from Hollywood but also from Europe and especially from France. With these works I learned to find and create my own style. Now I see that some young filmmakers are inspired by my style. That is amazing. We are all one big family, all friends. We share all good ideas with each other. I think that is very nice and I am honored. And if I come across someone who does even better work than me, I will of course continue to see what I can learn.
Everyone wanted to do a particularly good job!
John Woo: Only with a good team. We had a very good stunt coordinator and, by the way, some stunt choreographers who previously worked on John Wick. Together we planned every action scene down to the smallest detail before filming started. And they took a lot of time to rehearse every action element in advance – together with our main actor. Joel [Kinnaman] took a lot of time and practiced his fight scenes. Even though we had a very tight schedule when filming: as soon as they were needed, they came and were ready immediately. It was rewarding that everyone involved in this film saw it as a major challenge that they wanted to do exceptionally well with.
John Woo: You know, the dialogue-free approach is actually a good thing for everyone – especially the actors. The audience is also much more concentrated. You have to pay more attention to the actors’ faces to see their performance. They always look our main character straight in the eyes. There is eye contact almost the entire time. The audience feels so much more of him.
With Joel [Kinnaman] and Catalina [Sandino Moreno] I also had two big stars who can use their eyes to express things and make us feel their emotions. The good camera work supported her. And music is also very important. The music is a much better language in this film. Each scene has music that builds the emotions for the audience.
I also feel like a lot of movies explain too much. Sometimes we don’t have to explain anything. Overall, we need to give the audience more space to think and feel, rather than making our characters talk so much all the time.
John Woo: To be honest, I didn’t really know him and haven’t seen many of his films. I only knew him from an English film called ‘Child 44’, in which he played a small role. But when I met him in person, I immediately thought he looked so real. He is not the superhero or super fighter type, but the boy from the neighborhood. And our character is also an ordinary man, not superhuman. He is a man like everyone else. And that fits the character very well.
When I met him, I was immediately convinced that he would be a great fit for my idea for this film.
New version of “The Killer” – no remake for John Woo!
John Woo: There have been plans for this for a long time and I didn’t really feel like doing it myself. But then a great new screenwriter came on board and he made a change to the main character: the killer is now a woman. That fascinated me. This is my first time directing a female heroine. This is very interesting. And there’s also a second big change that this author has come up with that excites me. We now have a happy ending.
That’s why it’s not a remake for me. The story is completely different now. For me it’s just another film that I’m making.