In the midst of chaos and destruction, A Quiet Place: Day One brings a sense of quiet delight to the already devastated streets of Manhattan. The film introduces new characters Sam and Eric, played by Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn, as they navigate the alien invasion in New York City. Sam’s mission to find Harlem pizza stems from comforting childhood memories with her father, which proves to be a powerful driving force in the face of mortality.
The story takes place on the first day of the alien attack, where Sam, a cancer patient and hospice resident, heads into Manhattan with other residents and nurse Reueben to see some puppetry. However, their trip is interrupted by the Death Angels’ initial descent from the stars, destroying the bus, killing many, and stranding Sam and Reuben among the terrified initial survivors. Sam ends up heading off alone, save for her adorable cat Frodo, on her true mission: returning to Harlem and finding a slice of Patsy’s Pizza.
As Sam navigates the treacherous streets, she meets Eric, a displaced British law student in New York, and the pair of unlikely travelers journey together to Harlem, despite Sam’s initial attempts to get rid of him. Throughout their journey, Sam and Eric prove useful to each other, with Sam keeping a cool head amidst crisis and Eric having a complimentary physical strength to help Sam when pain becomes too much.
A Still From Quite Place Day One (Photo: Quite Place Day One)
As they get closer to Harlem, Sam’s health begins to deplete, and the audience discovers the reason for her obsessive journey to find Harlem pizza against the flow of panicking people. Sam has strong, comforting childhood memories with her father, specifically seeing him perform jazz and grabbing Patsy’s Pizza. Confronting her own mortality at the end of her projected lifespan, Sam wants to revisit and remember that warm memory above all else.
When Eric and Sam discover that getting Patsy’s is no longer possible, Eric has an idea: What if they find the jazz club she so associates with her father? Here, they share some whiskey and Eric tracks down pizza from another restaurant and writes “Patsy’s” on the box. Sam’s mission is complete, and the pair sets out to hit the shore before the boats leave the harbor.
In the end, Sam sacrifices herself to distract the aliens, allowing Eric and Frodo to escape to safety. The film ends with Sam taking one last walk through the deserted streets of Harlem, listening to Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good,” before being killed by an alien. Despite her death, Sam goes out feeling good, having made her way home and rekindling her childhood memories. A Quiet Place: Day One is a heartwarming and moving spin on classic themes in film and literature history, providing a poignant look at humanity’s struggles in the face of the unknown.
