No One Will Save You

I had no knowledge of this movie prior to seeing it pop up everywhere and the reviews be so divisive. It sparked my curiosity. I’m so glad it did, because this is a hell of an interesting movie … although I do get why it’s divisive. The story is kind of simple, really, and made up of components from a lot of other movies. Brynn lives alone on the outskirts of town. She’s shunned by everyone there. One night, an alien shows up, and it turns out it be the vanguard of an invasion, which she desperately tried to fight off. Mixed into this is some personal trauma tied to her ostracism. Like I said, it’s fairly simple. The execution, however, is where this movie lives or dies. That’s because, apart from five words spoken at the one hour mark, there is no dialogue. None. Considering that she spends 95% of the movie alone, it honestly kind of makes sense. Sure, we all talk to ourselves on occasion when the spouse or kids are gone. But do we have full-blown narrative dumps? No. We’re living in the moment, there’s no need to narrate preparing a salad for lunch or folding laundry. This movie reflects that. There is no need for Brynn to narrate what she’s doing. We see it. There’s no benefit to it. As such, everything about the movie — emotions, how the plot unfolds, backstory, everything — is relayed through facial expressions, body language, and music cues. On every level of filmmaking, that would be a challenge, and No One Will Save You pulls it off and then some. Writer/director Brian Duffield manages to capture every thought and emotion and nuance and plot development without needing dialogue (save for the one moment, and it is earned) through canny camera work, staging, lighting, score, and overall direction. His partner in this is his leading lady, Kaitlyn Dever. She threads the needle on the acting this movie needs so expertly and effortlessly. Every gesture, every movement, every twitch of a facial muscle, is delivered with the maximum precision to get over the moment. In lesser hands, this could’ve been a disaster, a performance riddled with histrionics and Nic Cage overacting, but she nails every moment of hope, fear, desperation, exhaustion, determination, and shame. I won’t go into details about the story, as this is the kind of movie to go in knowing as little as possible. Let it play out for you in the way it’s meant to. It is unique. It is a challenge. It demands your focus because of its gimmick, and the gimmick is definitely not for everyone. If it doesn’t resonate, I get why. But I loved it, and thinking back on it a day later, I love it even more.