Making a film adaptation of Shûsaku Endô‘s 1966 novel Silence has been a ‘passion project’ at the back of Martin Scorsese‘s mind since 1990. He said it’s a strong story that he has had an obsession with over the years and felt it had to be done. The production began to amalgamate in 2009, with Daniel Day-Lewis, Benicio del Toro, and Gael García Bernal in negotiations to star, but the project fell to the back-burner making way for Shutter Island instead. Following The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Scorsese announced that Silence would be his next film, with a screenplay co-written with Jay Cocks who also wrote Gangs of New York (2002). It seems a tremendous shame but perhaps a blessing in disguise to loose the original cast who seemed perfect for the story, but the have been replaced with yet more fine actors. In the seventeenth century, two Christian missionaries (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) face the ultimate test of faith when they travel to Japan in search of their missing mentor (Liam Neeson) – at a time when Christianity was outlawed and their presence forbidden.

The cast also includes Ciarán Hinds and Tadanobu Asano. With a very heavy tone revealed in the trailer and an epic two and a half hour running time, Silence looks to be a slow-burning historic drama not for the average cinema-goer seeking some light entertainment. This masterful epic of religion and barbarity is a pronounced step away from the crowd pleasing subject matter of his latest work and sees Scorsese really delve deep into cinema as a dramatic art form again. Silence is set to be released in the UK on new year’s day. You can watch the trailer below.

Adam Driver in Silence

Liam Neeson in Silence