It's hard to describe what I enjoyed about No One Will Save You without talking spoilers. Before I get into anything spoilery, I will say that the film's one woman against an alien invasion plot line is well crafted to deliver maximum chills and is rather effective at telling its story using (literally) the show-don't-tell method since the film contains only one line of dialogue throughout its entire runtime. The film grabs you early with Dever home alone, reacting to someone breaking in, discovering that it's aliens (nothing spoilery so far - this is all in the trailer) and then fighting to survive. On that alone it works very well as a good thriller.
But what I appreciated more is how it explores its themes of alienation, regret, self-loathing. As the film slowly lays out its backstory and develops Dever's character, we get, piece by piece, an understanding of why things are as they are and if there are ways to change it. Dever's performance is strong, even without dialogue, which helps the power of the film. But it is the film's rather chilling ending which brings to light something interesting.
Okay now *spoilers*! Stop reading here until you've seen it.
Dever is an outcast, perhaps you can say an alien from the community. As her battle with the aliens reaches its conclusion there is a detante reached, perhaps a mutual understanding. She has been pushed out of her humanity by those around her and she is given a chance to live her life differently, as part of something. That something is not necessarily presented by the film as something positive. There is quite a disquieting feeling to the new status quo at the end of the film. I don't think we're necessarily supposed to feel good about her future, even if she seems to. Even the film's choice to have no one speak adds to the unease that permeates the story. Living without communication is isolating and perhaps fractures our human experience.
The film asks us to consider being ostracized, blaming yourself for your past, and the things you might do to feel whole again. And that is in itself interesting. So while the film does provide some fun alien mayhem throughout, it also gives us some tragedy and redemption to wrestle with, without giving us an easy out or satisfaction in the end. So as the film reached its final moments I sat there feeling less comfortable than I had been before I started. That makes for something worth watching.
No One Will Save You
Starring: Kaitlyn Dever
Writer/Director: Brian Duffield
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