Todd Hewitt (Tom Holland) tries to control his thoughts. For good reason. Everyone can hear them. Todd lives in Prentisstown, a small colony on the New World of only men. It’s 2257AD, and the men on this planet are troubled. They call it the “Noise”—and like Todd, their thoughts can be seen and heard. (And, oh, the trouble those thoughts cause.)
Trouble quadruples when Viola Eade (Daisy Ridley)—yes, female—crash-lands nearby. Todd gets giddy over her pretty “yellow hair.” She’s exotic and strange and rather nice. Todd also realizes her dire situation—Viola must get out of town. He appoints himself for the task.
Relations would be difficult on earth if folks could hear our thoughts, don’t you agree? Then what if some, like the opposite gender, could keep their thoughts silent? How could you trust someone whose thoughts you could not hear—if you yourself were so painfully revealed all the time?
I loved the movie for this—and for how well it showed our complexity in being human.
Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley bring wonderful energy to their roles. Holland is well-known for his depiction of Spiderman. Viewers know Ridley as Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Other stars offer good oomph as well: Nick Jonas, Cynthia Erivo, David Oyelowo, Mads Mikkelsen, Demián Bichir, and David Oyelowo.
Director Doug Liman has a line-up of well-known action movies like The Bourne Identity (2002), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), and Edge of Tomorrow (2014).
One friend complained of a dropped plotline. I hadn’t seen it, but then agreed although I didn’t think it a terrible loss.
So, yes, I highly recommend Chaos Walking, which is at theatres, but also will advise that strong language is prevalent. (Lionsgate)
About the Author
Cynthia Beach is the author of the novel The Surface of Water and Creative Juices for Writers. She is a longtime English professor at Cornerstone University and cofounder of Scriptoria: An Interfaith Writing Workshop with Gary Schmidt (scriptoriaworkshop.org). Visit her at cynthiabeach.com.