The Daltons are on vacation in Italy in an attempt to repair the damage to their marriage caused by moments of malaise and infidelity. Louise (Mackenzie Davis) also struggles to keep the family unit together after her husband Ben (Scoot McNairy) suffers the indignity of losing his job. Into these fragile dynamics steps, Paddy played with a barely contained manic intensity by James McAvoy.
The Daltons’ family unit, which also includes daughter Agnes (Alix West Lefler) are strangely drawn to Paddy, his partner Ciara (Aisling Franciosi) and their son Ant (Dan Hough). Louise is hesitant but Ben sees a free spirit in Paddy that he misses in himself and is willing to look past the eccentricities that Paddy has in overabundance. After the Italian holiday finishes, they are invited to join their new friends at their home in England.
What starts as a fairly straightforward domestic tale turns very strange as the threesome ventures into the weird world of Paddy and his farm. As the oddities add up slowly at first and then quickly, the dynamic changes. Then things take a step to the extreme. Friendship turns adversarial and it makes you look at things in an entirely different manner.
James McAvoy’s acting chops are on full display here. He keeps you on the knife’s edge throughout with a performance that is both unsettling and menacing. This is needed to keep your interest as the story slows down and offers few surprises in the final reel. In the parlance of gymnastics, Speak No Evil fails to stick the landing. With McAvoy’s performance in mind, it’s still a worthwhile view but has the aftereffect of preventing you from ever becoming friends with strangers you meet on holiday.
Rob Hudson
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