The Quiet Girl (2022)

"You don't have to say anything. There's many a person missed the chance to not say anything, and lost much by it."

I was once told that "only those that speak in a meeting are present for that meeting." As a society, we often praise those that speak up. For good reason, staying silent about an injustice or other harm that should have a light shined on it is morally wrong. But more often those that are quiet or need a moment to absorb what is being said are overwhelmed by those who believe talking means you have something interesting to say.

     Our story starts with a quiet girl named Cait living a quiet life in rural Ireland. Her home life is neglectful at best. At school, she is often overwhelmed and runs away. Her father says she's a "wanderer" and not with a measure of pride. When her mother gets close to expecting another child, Cait is sent off to live with distant relatives. There she finds kindness and attention and love, a real home that hides a sad secret on its walls.

     No spoiling for this story. It's a beautiful, simple story told mostly in Gaelic about simple people offering kindness to a sensitive child. Watching the "quiet girl" turn from running away from people to finding people to run toward is charming and heartbreaking. The last word of the film is whispered yet is louder and more impactful than any gunshot of a John Wick movie. I cannot say enough about this movie as a whole.

     That extends to the actors. The nine year old Catherine Clinch was found during a general casting call and gives an understated and deep performance that could have been melodramatic. Her father, played slovenly by Michael Patric in the best way, really shows the grime of an unattentive alcoholic going about his life with no care of how it impacts others. The main couple who helps Cait come out of her shell, Carrie Crowley and Andrew Bennett, give a sense of resilient loss. Each comes out of their shell in different ways, learning to care again through small gestures. 

     And the shots. The green of the land and grey of the buildings and yellow of the dress and the focus and all of it. Seeing shots in doorways or between people, every shot showing someone at a distance from someone or getting closer. I do not have the language to gush here, but I loved simply watching this movie in a way I have not since Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

     So go see this one any way you can. It has subtitles, but the script is so lean and crisp it almost is not needed. Hell, when people do talk too much in this movie they generally are not worth listening to.