Production has now wrapped on the set of Martin Scorsese’s passion project Silence, the auteur’s high-profile adaptation of the eponymous novel by Shûsaku Endô, and after giving us an image of Andrew Garfield’s Jesuit priest, Collider has unveiled the first official still of Liam Neeson as a bearded and gaunt mentor.
Set in 17th century Nagasaki, Japan, Scorsese’s awards-friendly tale orbits around Garfield’s pilgrimage to find his wayward mentor, a gruelling experience he will share with Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ Adam Driver. Disillusioned and at his wits’ end, Neeson’s deeply religious lead is hoping to spread the salvation of Christianity, though his character finds himself conflicted with the role that god plays in his life, questioning his once-unyielding faith in the process.
Indeed, Neeson isn’t the only Gangs Of New York talent to be involved in Silence, either, given that Jay Cocks handled the adaptation of Endô’s aforementioned novel. Returning to the more dramatic projects that helped define his career, the Northern Irishman recently touched upon some of the core themes that form the spine of Silence.
“The question in the film is: Is there a god? We’re all in some way asking ourselves that all the time. What is the purpose of life? What is faith? Why have faith? Why do we wake up in the morning and get out of bed? It’s as basic as that and the film asks all these questions and dramatizes them in a very exceptional way.”
Production woes and unofficial delays may have pipped the film’s awards chances this year, though all signs point to Martin Scorsese’s Silence being readied for launch in late 2016, with an appearance at next year’s Cannes Film Festival also on the cards.