Directed by : Colm Bairead

She says as much as she needs to say. May there be many like her.

Catherine Clinch, Carrie Crowley and Andrew Bennett in a still from 'The Quiet Girl'

Spoilers ahead...


Set in rural Ireland of early 1980s, the story is of a 10 year old quiet girl Cait (Catherine Clinch) who lives with a dysfunctional family. Her mother is expecting a new child soon, so she sends Cait to her cousin's Eibhlin Cinnsealach (Carrie Crowley) far away place for the summer. Eibhlin and her husband Sean Cinnsealach (Andrew Bennett) look after Cait who finds them lot more loving family. Cait is told that a family should not have any secrets, and yet later on she finds one deep hidden secret about Eibhlin and Sean. 

It's a very simple film, which most times is enough to enjoy but here you feel they just didn't try much in the narrative making it sail through without enough conflicts or hard-hitting moments. Even the hinted secret I felt wasn't as deep as I thought it would be. Sure, it still plays better with the narrative but there was a chance of going darker like Cait thinking she got a very good place but they are actually even worse. It may have made for a tough watch but atleast there would be something more going on. Or they should had kept more conversations between Cait and Eibhlin/Sean, especially after she learns about the secret.  

The final scene is heartbreaking, and easily the best one of the movie. You just feel for Cait, because most likely off-screen, the story would go on with Cait having to live again with her parents who don't care for her.  The child neglect and emotional abuse is in full display everytime we see Cait with her parents. It doesn't help that her relation with her sisters seems to be non-existent too, same goes for her school scene where she is shown to be all alone. 

Eibhlin and Sean sequences are good to watch playing the kind parents who have no own children. We finally see Cait find some happyness in her life even if its meant to be short-lived. If you are smart enough you may even predict that the initial cold behavior of Sean towards Cait might have to do with his own personal loss. That 'taking water out from well' sequence in the end was a frightening scene to watch, for a moment I felt maybe Eibhlin and Sean were about to witness another loss. I am happy that they didn't go this route at all. Would have been too depressing to my liking. 

Overall, The Quiet Girl is a decent watch, it is slow and a bit too simple. You just wish the childhood depression could had been explored more to make it an emotional movie.

My Rating : 5.5/10