Review of The Quiet (2005) by Don S — 10 Jul 2011

I've taken a day to digest what I saw before writing this review. That makes it sound like there is just so much that happened in the film I had to sort it all out before writing. Not quite. I've been struggling with figuring out just what this film was trying to accomplish. One one hand, you have a deaf mute and the horrible way she is treated by just about everyone in the movie. And because she is deaf, she becomes the perfect sounding board for all the characters to confess their inner feelings, sins, and insecurities. On the other hand, you have the taboo subject of incest, and the degradation of the daughter who is the victim of it. Two horrible subjects that can't possibly make this film entertaining. So, was it supposed to be educational? Was its purpose to be artsy? I don't know; whatever it is supposed to be, it fails (but not miserably). The acting is decent (I like Cuthbert, and Belle was impressive; Ashmore is always believable.) It does a good job evoking tension in the situations it depicts. Not great by any means, but not filthy or trashy either. A fair movie, worth one view.

You wrote this on 10/11/08.