There’s a never-ending supply of made-for-TV-movies that feature families with secrets and problems that will suck in viewers. But usually, there’s nothing else on TV and that provides hungry viewers for the trashy movie. “The Quiet” looks like a TV movie that mistakenly ended up on the big screen.
A deaf and mute girl goes to live with her godparents after an unfortunate accident. Dot’s (Camilla Belle) father died and she has no one left to turn to that would understand her situation. The Deer family invites her in with open arms, but she doesn’t learn that the facade the family puts forth hides more than a few dark secrets.
Dot is an outcast both at home and at school. Her adoptive sister, Nina (Elisha Cuthbert) loathes her existence and either pretends she’s not there or says rude things about her, thinking she can’t figure it out. However, Dot has her own little secret: She’s not really deaf or mute, it’s a voluntary thing.
Nina pretends her life is perfect, as a popular and beautiful cheerleader, but it’s far from it. Her life actually resembles a nightmare because of an incestuous relationship with her father Paul (Martin Donovan). Her mother Olivia (Edie Falco) can’t care, since she’s always high on pain pills. Her best friend Michelle (Katy Mixon) is obsessed with sleeping with high school jock Connor (Shawn Ashmore). She has no support system besides Dot, and she’d rather not turn to her.
Dot is an observer in a world she chooses not to be part of, but when she finally gets dragged into participating, it’s too late to save the movie.
Director Jamie Babbit tends to stick to parodies and lighter humor, “The Quiet” is more than a big turn-around for her career.
Some may say that this is a dark comedy, there’s nothing funny about the content of this movie. It’s disturbing, but not compelling enough to satisfy the depth the script could have had. There are more than a few questions a viewer will come out of “The Quiet” with. Dot’s background is hardly explained, like why she chose to portray herself as disabled in such a way. And why was Mrs. Deer on painkillers?
Cuthbert puts forth a convincing and heart-wrenching performance which establishes her as a strong actress, above roles that make her out as only a pretty girl. As Nina, she still has her sex appeal, but wields power as a woman -- or teenager -- no longer willing to stay silent.
Belle -- in her second lead movie role in the last year -- has an okay performance, but her character continually narrates over scenes in regards to feeling invisible, which was her choice. As the character that knows what happens in the silence, she should have been the one speaking out. She learns everyone's secrets because they spill their souls to someone they think cannot speak or hear. She turns out to be the one that cowers behind a persona more than anyone else in this movie.
The one captivating scene of "The Quiet" also happens to be the most unsettling. After Nina refuses Paul’s advances, he goes to rape her. Classical music swells over the scenes as do Nina’s screams and cries. It’s a sickening, yet intense piece.
If you're looking for a movie about a dysfunctional family, go see something other than “The Quiet" or stay home and watch a Lifetime movie.
Originally from Des Plaines, Ill., Heather moved to Milwaukee to earn a B.A. in journalism from Marquette University. With a tongue-twisting last name like Leszczewicz, it's best to go into a career where people don't need to say your name often.
However, she's still sticking to some of her Illinoisan ways (she won't reform when it comes to things like pop, water fountain or ATM), though she's grown to enjoy her time in the Brew City.
Although her journalism career is still budding, Heather has had the chance for some once-in-a-lifetime interviews with celebrities like actor Vince Vaughn and actress Charlize Theron, director Cameron Crowe and singers Ben Kweller and Isaac Hanson of '90s brother boy band Hanson.
Heather's a self-proclaimed workaholic but loves her entertainment. She's a real television and movie fanatic, book nerd, music junkie, coffee addict and pop culture aficionado.
