The Noise is man unfiltered, and without a filter, a man is just chaos walking

Based on Patrick Ness’ best-selling book The Knife of Never Letting Go published in 2008​, the Noise is a male affliction that makes all their thoughts audible to the public as a jumbled mix of sights and sounds.

Starring Tom Holland as Todd Hewitt and Daisy Ridley as Viola Eade in the headlining roles, and helmed by Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Edge Of Tomorrow), this dystopian futuristic film was always going to be a wild ride. Ness described Liman as an “investigative director,” and therefore a perfect choice for the film. The screenwriter spoke with us about the idea behind his science-fiction western story. “The Noise is the human mind, completely unedited,” proclaimed Ness. It is a cacophony driving men insane by revealing their unfiltered truth.It gave Liman a blank canvass to work with. He knew which rules to break.

“I felt like I was grabbing onto the tail of a rocket with this book and wanted the movie to feel the same,” Ness continued. The writer wanted to dig deeper into Todd and Viola’s relationship in the film version. Patrick Ness deliberately chose to downplay the romantic component and allow the audience to get to know them first on a personal level.

The Noise is both literal and metaphoric.

The world is already in a state of information overload. “It is very noisy. It affects us differently. We feel this urge to share absolutely everything with everyone.” On a deeper level, the writer wanted to explore the weaknesses caused by excessive information either via the internet or social interactions. Does so much information add any value to the quality of human connections?

Patrick Ness

How do we filter all the noise, if, in the end, “we only hear the noise we want to hear.”

Chaos Walking also explores the notion of intimacy. “If we share everything, what happens to the things we should keep private?” We need to filter out our ugly thoughts. Not every thought needs to be expressed. Our choices in what we share is a key part of what makes us human. The story of Todd Hewitt, is learning how to filter his Noise in order to discover who he is in a place that he doesn’t fully understand.

A Study Of Masculinity

The Noise is something that only afflicts males in the New World. When Viola crash lands in search of a better life, she has the gift of silence to block out excessive Noise. Ness makes a gender distinction between the two rather than a judgement. Ironically, Viola’s ability to filter out Noise ties in with the plight of many woman who’s voices are not being heard despite speaking loudly.

Mayor Prentiss (Mads Mikkelsen) is the villain of Chaos Walking. He’ll stop at nothing to find Viola after she goes missing. Prentiss’ and ego lies in his naming the town after himself – Prentisstown and also having the ability to control his Noise via a circle. He is absolute power.

Prentiss doesn’t question the rules of the world. “He represents certainty in an uncertain world. This makes him a dangerous villain.” Despite his feelings toward the awkward Todd who is averse to killing to survive, Prentiss sees his leadership potential and mentors him to probably take over running the town in favor of his son Davy (Nick Jonas). Todd has developed the capability to manipulate and temper the Noise, but not to the level of Mayor Prentiss’ circle.

The most dangerous man in Prentisstown is Preacher (David Oyelowo) who is even more binary than even Mayor Prentiss. Everything is right or wrong. Everything he believes is right. No dissent is entertained. Everyone has a destiny. Everyone has a purpose. There is no negotiation or compromise. He is fire and brimstone.

A Girl Called Viola

The screenwriter steered clear of typical female tropes in Chaos Walking. Viola was not going to be an often-seen damsel in distress and Todd was not going to be a traditional white knight rescuing her. “Many girls in movies are either a Hermione – all brainy and comfortable, or ferocious and powerful. They’re great, but don’t represent the teenage girls that I know. Viola was as brave as any male character needs to be.” Both Todd and Viola are constantly evolving, finding their feet, and learning the rules of the New World. Both are as vulnerable as they are tough and resourceful.

Viola Eade (Daisy Ridley) and Todd Hewitt (Tom Holland). Photo by Lionsgate

Patrick Ness has been a long-time fan of YA dystopian stories. His fascination with these stories is simple and he understands why the work. “A dystopian society is broken down into tribes with complicated rules that are not fully explained. Your life is at stake all the time. Emotionally, Chaos Walking is like high school. These stories feel true to a young audience.” This uneasiness and series of missteps is prominent in adolescence.

Although Chaos Walking is set in 2257 A.D, the screenwriter ensured it feels like a not too distant future, perhaps even the present. Information overload and unattenuated thoughts are not something youth thinks about in a broken society they may not live to see. “They’re seeing an emotional representation of it in their daily lives,” continued Ness. It is akin to an unedited, uncurated form of social media where you have no privacy.

The nearby enclave of Farbranch is run by women who escaped the Noise. They are farmers and operate holistically rather the bombastic militarism of Prentisstown.

Chaos Walking was co-written with Christopher Ford (Spider-man: Homecoming). It wasn’t a traditional collaboration of each writing a few scenes and giving each other feedback. It was a more fluid, collaborative writing process where the sum is better than the parts. Patrick considered Ford as “a compatriot of the journey. Everyone, including Doug Liman and the cast makes their own contribution to the final movie.”

Like many of his stories, Patrick Ness explores the notion of finding the truth that was originally kept from you in Chaos Walking. It’s about not blindly accepting what you’re told. “Todd questions everything. He’s like a teenager separated from his family.” Todd is raised by guardiansBen (Demián Bichir) and Cillian (Kurt Sutter). It also ends a hopeful note.

A simple ideas of questioning your world is not enough to sustain a story in and of itself. Patrick Ness understands this and sees if there are other concepts that can be attached to the core idea. “If I get a good idea I let it rest and see if any other ideas get stuck to it. Then I know there’s book or film in it.”

Despite a love of the genre, the screenwriter doesn’t like to pigeonhole his stories and adhere to established genre tropes. “Give the story what it needs and wants.“