When I finished watching The Quiet, my thoughts were in the "what a waste of time" and "what was the point of that" arena. But the more I started to think about it, the more I realized that there was definite substance in this film, and quite a bit more than originally met my eye.

This movie examines many interpretations of the word "quiet".

In the case of Dot (played by Camilla Belle), "quiet" describes her entire world ever since she was seven years old. That's when her mother died, and she was left with only her deaf father for company. That's also when Dot got sick, lost her hearing, and stopped speaking. She's been living in a "quiet" world ever since.

When her father is tragically killed, she goes to live with the Deer family.

The Deer family seems to have reasonable intentions, taking her in. But they don't make a whole lot of effort to communicate with her. No one bothers to learn Sign language. Oh - they talk about how they "should" learn it "someday". But for now, they mostly ignore Dot. Except teenaged daughter Nina (Elisha Cuthbert). She does worse than ignore her. She resents this intrusion into their family, and teases Dot mercilessly.

But Nina has been "quiet" about something, too. She doesn't dare tell a soul what her father Paul (Martin Donovan) does to her at night. Mom (Edie Falco) is "quiet", too. She knows what her husband does, but feels powerless to stop him. She hides inside her prescription medications, pretends everything is perfect, and never, ever, says a word about it.

Nina's schoolmate, Connor (Shawn Ashmore) puts a different spin on the word "quiet". He knows Dot can't hear a word he's saying, so he uses her as a confessional. He bares his soul to her, telling her everything that he's never told anyone before, knowing that his secrets are safe with her.

That's the basic premise of this movie. In effort not to spoil the story for you, I'll refrain from saying any more, except that things are going to be shaken up in this household. Because things aren't always what they seem.

This is a dark film, with a broody, downbeat feel to it. Of course, when dealing with the issue of childhood sexual abuse, one would assume a movie to be serious. I think the issue, itself, was dealt with in an amazing way. I felt that there was a lot of realism to how Nina behaves with her father. She both loves him and loathes him. She fears his nightly visits, yet enjoys them, at least to some extent. Presumably it's the only time she really feels loved. These conflicting emotions are expressed perfectly. And even Mom's tendency to pretend nothing's wrong. She closes her eyes, pretending to be asleep when Paul sneaks out of their bedroom. I'm not excusing any of this, believe me, but from what I understand, these are some of the typical reactions for the people involved in such a situation.

Camilla Belle was wonderful, as Dot. Her eyes express so much, it didn't matter that she didn't speak. We knew exactly what was going on with her. (Well, she also "narrates", meaning we are privy to the thoughts going through her head). The extreme love she felt for her father becomes apparent in several ways. My heart can only break for a child losing both parents, as she did. I felt Dot's sadness and loneliness, and I credit Belle's performance for this.

I enjoyed the music in this movie. Dot is a wonderful piano player. It seems she shared a love of music with her father, who would lean against the piano and feel the vibrations as she played. She references Beethoven a lot, and plays Moonlight Sonata beautifully. In fact, it's her music that first attracted Connor. Later I did a bit of research and learned that it really was Camilla Belle playing the piano, in all of those scenes. What a talented young lady!

Finally, without telling you why, I'm just going to say that I loved the ending. It was very satisfying. So much happens in those final few moments, stuff that might get lost on you, if you're not paying close attention. As I said, the beauty of this movie was lost on me, at first, until I really thought about it.

What didn't I like?

The teenage angst. Nina's BFF Michelle was awful. Every bad thing normally associated with teenagers was multiplied 12 times in Michelle. She was obnoxious, without morals, in fact she's without any likable quality at all. And, to make it even worse, she was played horribly by Katy Mixon. I'm sorry, but this was a terrible casting decision. I can only guess what factors were in play when she was given the part. Maybe she's the real-life BFF of Elisha Cuthbert, who not only played Nina, but was also the movie's Associate Producer.

The rest of their teenage friends are all just as bad. We can forgive Nina, a bit, for her nastiness as we know what her home life is like. But, assuming that the other kids have normal homes and families, I can't imagine why they're all so nasty.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie. I recommend it for when you're in the mood for a serious drama, that examines some very tough issues. But be forewarned - not everything will be handed to you on a silver platter. This movie takes some after-thought to tie it together.



Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age