White Noise (2022)

I remember the first time it really set in for me that one day, me and everybody I know and love will die. I was maybe nine when the idea of not existing really became apparent to me. It was night time and I was in my bed trying to fall asleep. I got so scared that I got up and walked downstairs to find my Mom. When she asked me why I was up, I didn't know what to say.

Whenever something scared me as a kid, I did my best not to think about it. I would avoid any and all things that reminded me of whatever it was that I saw on TV that freaked me out a bit. However, once I really started to become afraid of death and dying, I couldn't get enough of it. I couldn't look away from the TV when stuff about war or 9/11 came on. I didn't like it, but I also couldn't look away. 

Tonight I watched White Noise. A film about death.

Jack (Adam Driver) is tasked with attempting to stay calm and level headed about several existential crisis, while struggling internally with a crippling fear of death. Everyone in this film is painfully aware of their own mortality and afraid of dying. 

When death is at the doorstep, the kids are afraid and aware that something awful is about to happen. The parents Jack and Babette (Greta Gerwig) ease the concerns of their blended family when a toxic chemical cloud is headed for their town. The kids raise alarm, as they are keeping up with the news and developing list of potentially problematic symptoms. While watching these moments, I felt the same way I felt during the pandemic when I saw people being so calm and cavalier about group gatherings during the pandemic. The feeling is also reminiscent of how I feel when I talk to my Father about the severity of the situation the human race is in with climate change. 

It isn't until later that we realize that it's Jack and Babette that are suffering from the most crippling fear of death. Jack is a renowned professor who teaches students about Hitler and Nazism; a very death saturated subject. He focuses on the death of others so as not to think about his own. Babette is so inhibited by her fear of death that she seeks out pills that may or may not cure the fear of death.

The entire films feels like people doing a dramatic reading of a script but it works. I love the scene with Jack and Professor Murray (Don Cheadle) dual monologging about Elvis and Hitler and the lack of differences between their fan bases. The dialogue feels like background noise. You almost tune out what the people are saying because it's delivered in such a way where it doesn't sound important. And what they are saying really isn't important.

I don't think any film needs to be over two hours long. I think the film hammered in it's point one too many times. I'm not mad at the dance sequence at the end. I really enjoyed the watching experience of it all.