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Overall Rating : 8/10
Directed By : Jamie Babbit
Elisha Cuthbert (House Of Wax (2005) )
Camilla Bell (When a Stranger Calls (2006) )
Edie Falco (The Sopranos (TV) )
Martin Donovan (Saved!)
Supplied By : Sony Pictures
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : Jan. 18, 2007
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| PLOT Nina Deer, a pretty cheerleader whose life is turned upside-down by the arrival of her parents’ godchild Dot, a deaf and mute girl recently orphaned by her father’s death. Although Nina looks upon Dot’s deafness with disdain, her family and friends develop a strange attraction to her, and Dot soon becomes a sounding board for everyone’s heaviest burdens. But when Nina becomes convinced that Dot is hiding a few secrets of her own, she decides to confess a family secret so disturbing, it cannot be ignored. |
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| THE REVIEW Shot on location in Austin Texas, THE QUIET tells the story of the decline and eventual fall of a popular family in rural suburbia. When the Deer family's godchild Dot arrive to live with them after the tragic death of her father(the one person she was closest with and the only one she had left - after the death of her Mother due to Cancer) - it takes time for the Deers to fully adjust with having an extra person in the home, especially one with a disability. It is from the very beginning that this adjusting seems the hardest for Paul and Olivia's daughter, Nina, who's around Dot's same age. At school, and just about everywhere else Dot, being both deaf and mute, stays to herself, thus called a freak by onlookers - but being alone and invisible in her own mind is all that she's ever known. Nina seems to go out of her way to torment Dot seemingly for kicks(and for her friends' approval), but it seems as if Nina gets the pleasure out of hassling Dot to mask a problem hidden deep inside of her, and before long it's as if everyone within Dot's surroundings, has a secret of their own. Being unable to both hear and speak, the Deer family and everyone else, soon see the young girl as sort of a mediator to air out their dark confessions, as all Dot can do do is absorb them, but as soon as Dot's own secret surfaces, everyone's sins seem to be a bit too much for her, as she ends up doing the unthinkable. Think of THE QUIET this way, as AMERICAN BEAUTY for the teen world, because the storyline, and appearance are reminiscent of such a film. But with this said, it is not necessarily a bad thing, This film is a great example of not everything that's shiny on the outside is always shiny on the inside, and here, the one's who surround a teenage girl are the said things. Being intimidated by her disability, at first arrival Dot sees everyone as sort of perfect, but deep down she can sense that something is missing from all of them - and she finds this out firsthand within her newfound family the Deers. Paul, the man of the house, is an architect, Olivia, the seemingly perfect wife/interior decorator and Nina, the beautiful blonde cheerleader who is the most popular at school - but behind close doors they are entirely different. Paul, who seems to be deeply in love with is wife Olivia, as well as his daughter Nina, often comes home to Olivia in an almost comatose state due to been heavily medicated, so to cure his loneliness, he perversely commits sexual intercourse with his own flesh and blood. We then sense that Nina, knows this is wrong, but since she loves her father as any child should, she willingly never says a word about it, and lets it build-up inside, and it all comes to a head when she tells Dot her plan to kill her father, as somehow the film sends the two girls onto the same path that we find wasn't so different after all, as Dot has been hiding behind a guilt of her very own. The film starts as being Narrated by Dot, and would be throughout the film, and before long the viewer begins to realize that this is Dot's inner being speaking to us, since she cannot freely say it. I feel that because Dot does not have a physical voice within most of the film, this was a great way to get to know the character. And just when you believe that this would be one of those films that we have one well developed character leaving the rest of the cast rather blank, it is through my incidents in the film in which we learn more about them, as Dot is absorbing everything being fed to her, the audience is equally being lured in by the interesting cast. It is not only the various, rather different characters that keep you hooked to this dark and thrilling piece, but it is also the atmosphere as well. The Director chose that have the only light to aluminate from natural sources which proves to fit rather nicely with the film's gloomy tone, but still manages not to be too grim, giving it a beautiful look entirely. As for the cast and their acting? The first actress chosen to play Dot was actually Thora Birch....and although I love Thora(she's one of my favorites) I have to say, had she been in this, it would,nt have felt the same - about as equal as an AMERICAN BEAUTY rehash I suppose. I am so glad, the filmmakers chose Camilla Belle for this role, Belle brings a feeling of realism to the role, and although she had a mere two weeks to prepare for it.... she nails it, her eyes were the equivalent to her ears in the film. Elisha Cuthbert, has really come along way since everyone began to notice her after she appeared in THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, also a Associate Producer of THE QUIET, Cuthbert delivers her most deep, and complete performance to date, at first sort of bitchy but by the end you kind of feel for her, through out the film, she is on both sides of the fence with the viewers, but it is because of a very believable performance that her character comes full circle. Also joining them are Shawn Ashmore as Connor, the popular basketball playing jock, who shamelessly falls for enigmatic Dot, who is a sex addict, and Katy Mixon who plays the obnoxious best friend of Nina - she is sex crazed but we later find out that she may have eyes for the unknowing Nina. Rounding out the cast are the Adults, Edie Falco and Martin Donovan respectively. Donovan is very believable as Paul, a man that is somewhat repressed and has an awkward love for his daughter. This particular role could've very well have been done wrong, it could've been over done and could've been far more disturbing. But to me, Donovan does it right - in the special features he mentioned that he "didn't want to play a creep". and to me he plays the part in a more realistic manner and not overly-creepy...it just suits the film ideally. Edie Falco, a brilliant Actress notably known for her role on The Sopranos is here as Olivia, who I believe didn't have enough of a presence. Unlikely all of the other characters found in THE QUIET, we were unable to witness her decline as she was already a pill popper from almost the beginning, which leaves her character making a lesser impact to the story than others. In conclusion, the film is a dark and slightly twisted film noir, that has enough substance and development to keep you interested until the very end, with it's solid story and beautiful setting it is hard to peel your eyes away from THE QUIET. | ||||
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| GORE
METER 2/10 Only one scene of strangulation is found here, but really absolutely no gore is necessary - it's intriguing. |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 5/10 Only classical piano is utilized here, and it suits the film very well - adding a gloomy sound to it's equally dark atmosphere. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM This film is beautiful..... prior to seeing it I had seen the previews as it did have a limited theatrical run, and being a fan of the young stars I wanted to see it, but admittingly I didn't know what type of film it was. Now that I have seen it, I am very impressed by it, as it is a very polished and slick film - almost like an art-house flick. THE QUIET is comparable to AMERICAN BEAUTY and as a fan of BEAUTY, I have to say that I was more pleased by THE QUIET instead, AMERICAN BEAUTY may have had the shock ending of a 'trouble in suburbia' story, but it is THE QUIET that had both the build-up and the shock - this is already going on my list of favorites.....highly, highly recommend! This DVD will be released on February 13, 2007 |
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