Gregarious, quick-witted and a little cheeky, Paddy makes a big impression on Ben and, to a lesser extent, Louise. Ben and Louise are going through a difficult time in their marriage after moving to London. When Paddy and Ciara invite the other family to extend their holiday and spend an extra long weekend in the west of good old England, a bored Ben jumps at the chance. Louise, however, hoping not to upset anyone, goes along with it. As does her 11-year-old daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler), who gets to play with Paddy and Ciara’s mute son Ant (Dan Hough).
At first, a long period of summer sunshine and copious drinking seems to be just what the marriage counselor ordered. But the longer Ben and Louise stay, the more Paddy’s forgetfulness and various cultural faux pas seem deliberate, passive-aggressive and ultimately sinister. Or are we just snobs? Then maybe it’s best not to mention it and just enjoy the holiday!
I am not against American remakes in principle. Gore Vorebinski has in his reinterpretation of The Ringand Matt Reeves brought a Hitchcock-like tension to his credible, if still inferior, Let the right one in And there is honestly room for improvement on the Danish Speak no evil. While the original screenplay by Christian and Mads Tafdrup is as clever as it is cynical, the film is so eager to lean on its metaphorical fable that its heartbreaking ending forces one of the couples in this story to stop behaving like believable people. The ending is unforgettable… but also a little contrived.
And once again to the credit of Watkins and Co.: The new Speak no evil The script acknowledges these superficial limitations and makes Ben and Louise’s choices seem at least vaguely realistic. The addition of a subplot about their broken marriage gives actors of Davis’ and McNairy’s talent something worth exploring. But whatever extra structure is given to our protagonists is an overcorrection, as the film turns an unbelievable but powerful ending into Hollywood pixie dust. It undermines the satire so thoroughly that it forgets the punch line.
But that doesn’t mean there aren’t other things to admire about this version of . Speak no evilespecially if you haven’t seen the original and don’t yet know how to interpret Paddy’s mistakes. First of all, it’s fascinating to watch McAvoy make them.
McAvoy is a great actor who never feels he gets his full credit. His command of the material is as breathtaking as the Italian and English countryside in which he plays. He is an actor who knows how to weaponise his kindness, like a Los Alamos contractor digging for plutonium. It’s not so much that you don’t believe Paddy when he apologises for serving goose to his vegetarian guest; it’s more that you want to believe it’s a harmless gag from an otherwise solid barmate.
