The Quiet Girl

This is a great film, especially in the way that it manages to create something interesting out of a reasonably mundane synopsis. A young girl is sent away to a relative's house for the summer where she is treated better than at home. Sounds like it could have a bit of Rohmer-style youthful awakenings? Or maybe some gritty Loach-ian societal comment? Even perhaps a revenge tinged 'fear the youth' theme? Well, it's none of the above, and more power to its style.

The Quiet Girl herself (Cáit) is a newcomer, Catherine Clinch, and she was apparently found via an Irish language school call out. She's incredible - meek, direct, no airs nor graces whatsoever, with a clear-eyed awkwardness. She's almost like a little female Bowie in The Quiet Girl Who Fell to Earth (no, not a film but I thought I'd italicise anyway). There are orbiting performances that complement her perfectly. Carrie Crowley and Andrew Bennet play Eibhlín and Seán Cinnsealach, the couple who take Cáit for the summer. Eibhlín is the cousin of Cáit's mother, Matháir (Kate Nic Chonaonaigh) and they're happy to have a child in the house, for reasons that become apparent during the film. Michael Patric plays the father, Athair, and he's the closest thing in the film to a villain - he's a terrible dad, and it's quite informative that he's one of the only characters that speaks English most of the time. Incidentally, his accent was so tricky to get an ear around that I thought those responsible had forgotten to subtitle his dialogue.

This is mature, humane filmmaking, a world away from most multiplex fare and it has almost everything to recommend it - music, cinematography, pacing, direction, acting, script, themes (loss and grief, neglect, child-raising, kindness and its opposite). It's full of fantastically executed scenes, crackling with tension and emotion. Seán has trouble initially warming to the young girl in the house and bawls her out on one occasion, only to apologise later by subtly placing a cream biscuit on the table next to her. No dialogue, one locked off shot followed by a close-up of the bikkie, back to Cáit noticing it. Perfect example of 'show, don't tell' character development. It's no coincidence that Seán says later in the film,

"You don't have to say anything. Always remember that. Many's the person missed the opportunity to say nothing, and lost much because of it."

On a beach near the house, Seán tells Cáit about a horse that was led in from the surf one night and the story is thick with significance, as is the fact that Cáit notices three lights on the horizon as they're leaving, where earlier there were just two. The 80s setting is bleak and kitschy, all crappy decor and cheesy Irish TV snippets, and this gives the film another way of showing the mundanity of life for the characters. There's a quiet power suffusing throughout and the final scene is an intense, almost cathartic release. This appears to be the first narrative feature from writer/director Colm Bairéad, let's hope he makes many more. 

The Quiet Girl open at the Luna and Palace on Sep 8th.

See also:

Another neglected kid is the focus of Francois Truffaut's, The 400 Blows (1959), and there are some similarities to Lynne Ramsay's Ratcatcher (1999).