Megan’s review published on Letterboxd:
It's not a surprise that no matter what Martin Scorsese makes, it's going to be a gorgeous and interesting piece of work. On an objective perspective, I can appreciate Silence as it captures a unique time and perspective in our world's history, that of 1600's Japan when Christianity was outlawed and practice of the religion was a death sentence. Following two Portuguese priests smuggled into the country in search of a Father gone missing is quite a selling point. Where the movie loses me is its laborious 2 hour 40 minute run time that really wears me down. The length is important as the movie's goal is to convey the damage of prolonged torture subject on Father Rodrigues and his Japanese catholic followers. I learned something about myself which is that an almost 3 hour movie about the persecution of Christianity doesn't really capture my interest. While the story grapples with double edged sword that is western powers were not wanted in Japan and they forced themselves in anyway, the narrative is still more on the side of the Christian faith than being sympathetic to Japanese powers. Out of the wealth of Scorsese's filmography, it's not the strongest but still, the guy knows what he's doing.