shhhhh! a good movie....

The Quiet: sony classics 2006 color 91 mins. Drama Elisa Cuthbert, Camilla Belle, Edie Falco, Martin Donovan, Shawn Ashmore, David Gallagher and Katy Mixon star. Written by Abie Nazimian Directed by Jamie Babit Rated R for strong language, violence and sexuality.

The Quiet is an interesting little film. It's not very mainstream but doesn't feel completely indie. It's an ambitious project but has some awkward moments. Camilla Belle of When a stranger Calls stars as as Dot a deaf girl whose been adopted by her god parents after her fathers untimely death. She's quiet, keeps to herself and is often teased by the popular kids. Queen of the popular kids is Nina played surprisingly well by Elisa Cuthbert of House of Wax. In addition to being the head cheerleader, Nina is a supposed virgin with a raunchy attitude who is daughter to the family that has adopted Dot. On one sleepless night Dot enters the hallway and discovers that Nina is being sexually molested by her father. When Nina learns of her discovery she taunts Dot by telling her she is going to murder her father and that if she can hear her she would be considered an accomplice. Can Dot hear? Can she speak? What the quiet brings to the table is frankness of it's subject matter. Which is pretty touchy. None of the characters are completely likable but their seemingly realistic. Nina loves her father, and loves him when she engages in sexual situations with him. She even uses those situations to her advantage when receiving gifts and ignoring kurfews. But make no mistake about it, she is angry and what he's doing is making her disturbed. She hates him and loves him at the same time. Her actions are irrational as they should be of a girl her age enduring what she goes through. It brings about a level of confusion that has never been explored in this specific way. Enter Dot Nina's polar opposite she's not popular, she's quiet and seemingly has little to no personality. But the girls share a deep rooted pain Dot has lost her father, after losing her mother to cancer. And Nina lost her father along time ago and too some degree blames everyone around her for it. His actions only instigate her depression further when it comes to a question of murder. Edie Falco of Freedomland stars as Nina's mother a depressed woman taking way too much medication but seemingly knows whats going on. Martin Donovan of Saved stars as Nina's perverse father, Sexy Shawn Ashmore of X-men stars as Connor the virginal school jock whom has a secret crush on Dot and Katy Mixon fills out the cast as Nina's annoyingly cynical best friend. But what the quiet is about is these two girls. Nina and Dot are performed exceptionally by Camilla Belle and especially Elisa Cuthbert. The direction is decent and the film is nicely paced with tidbits of suspense thrown in but never fully executed so it can become a USA type thriller. But the films ultimate presence is a bit confused it wants to be indie but seems ultimately mainstream. It's subject matter and performances suggest a film of deeper impact but instead are settled upon by just being a good flick. Either way this film should be seen and not taken lightly. As mainstream as it is the film offers an original point of view on a disturbing situation.

What would you do if you had a friend who supposedly is deaf and cannot speak? Would you confide your darkest secrets? Especially when you have to get it out, but fear being outed? I think in some ways we wish we could all do this since we have so much bottled up inside us, that's why I rented The Quiet, I didn't realize how dark this movie truly was until I saw it with my friend today. This story was so disturbing and horrific in my opinion, even though I'm not sure it's within my tastes, but it actually was a pretty well made movie.

Dot is a deaf teenager who has just been adopted by her godparents, she also cannot speak, she is the outcast at school, and lost her parents at a young age. Nina is the parent's daughter who is very popular and has a very dark secret with her "daddy". When Nina spots Dot playing the piano, Dot has a secret of her own that just might out what is happening in their family.

The Quiet is a very interesting plot that I found to be unique and pretty good. The acting is alright, I was surprised by how well the film worked and how well directed it was. I think the thing is though, it's one of those movies you can only see once, you'll see what I mean, because it touches bases you'd never think where a movie would go, you know? But I think we all need those type of movies every once in a while.

7/10

The deaf and dumb teenager Dot (Camilla Belle) is adopted by the Deer family after the death of her father in an accident, and her seventeen year-old stepsister Nina (Elisha Cuthbert) gives a cold treatment to her, humiliating Dot in the high-school and at home. Nina's mother Olivia (Edie Falco), who is addicted in pills, was a close friend of Dot's mother and her husband Paul (Martin Donovan) is a successful architect. While living with the Deers, the invisible Nina discovers that they are actually a dysfunctional family with a dark secret that approaches her to Nina that also has discovered that Dot has a hidden secret.

The classy and erotic "The Quiet" was a great surprise for me, with a dense and solid drama about an unpleasant theme – incest – that is unusual in American movies. Camilla Belle, Elisha Cuthbert, Martin Donovan and Edie Falco give top-notch performances, and the talented actress and pianist Camilla Belle is responsible for part of the stylish music score, playing Beethoven on the piano. The powerful story about invisibility and secrets may be controversial or polemic for many viewers, disturbing for others, but never disappointing. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Preço do Silêncio" ("The Price of the Silence")