Review of The Quiet (2005) by Daniel P — 27 May 2009

The Quiet is a fantastic premise with a bunch of interesting themes in a story worth telling, hindered by a pretty woeful script. It's the second film I've seen in a month that not only suffers from the "good concept, bad execution" vibe, but also features Elisha Cuthbert displaying some actual acting ability.

The other film is He Was A Quiet Man (odd that they also both have the word 'quiet' in the title). Straddling teen-flick, drama, thriller, camp comedy and sort-of horror, the film surprisingly doesn't ever feel confused.

The pace is fast, the acting more than capable (Cuthbert, Camilla Belle and Edie Falco are all especially good), the story intense and gripping. But the script lets things down - there are some horrible clangers here - which adds to the fun factor, admittedly, but does sit at odds with some of the disturbing content (fathers will fuck you up, and wanting to be invisible makes everyone else *more* visible).

In the end, this is easy to recommend even if the way in which it is written makes it, essentially, trash.