In the Mid-17th Century, two Portuguese Jesuit priests (Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver) embark to the incredibly perilous island of Japan where Catholicism has been banned where they perform the sacraments on the furtively practicing peasants and to learn the fate of their stalwartly devout mentor (Liam Neeson) who they learned has left the priesthood and is living as a layman with a wife. From a novel by Shusaku Endo, Silence is an impassioned work of devotion, doubt, and faith by Martin Scorsese, who wrote the screenplay with longtime friend and collaborator Jay Cocks, which will serve as a challenge for modern movie-going audiences. Grueling, measured, and thoughtful with the preeminent direction, production values, and performances (especially Garfield's tortured turn) you would expect.
*** 1/2 out of ****
