Film review: The Quiet Girl an exquisite slice of life

Catherine Clinch, 12, as Cáit in The Quiet Girl.

The Quiet Girl (124 mins), screening in cinemas now
Directed by Colm Bairéad
Reviewed by Jen Shieff

Beautifully filmed in rural Ireland, set in the early 1980s, in Irish (Gaelic) with subtitles, with an Irish director (Colm Bairéad), it comes as no surprise that The Quiet Girl, known in Ireland as An Cailín Ciúin, was judged best Irish film by the Dublin Film Critics' Circle this year and left Belfast (2021) in the dust to take seven Irish Film and Television Academy awards.

One of those awards went to Catherine Clinch, 12, for her brilliant portrayal of Cáit, the quiet girl of the title. Did Anna Paquin feel she was destined for Hollywood, aged 11, when she won her Oscar for her role in The Piano (1993)? Catherine Clinch will surely have an acting career ahead of her, should she want it. Hers is an outstanding performance.

Based on Claire Keegan's short story Foster published in The New Yorker in 2010, the film follows Cáit as she is sent from her overcrowded, impoverished farm cottage to stay for the summer with her mother's cousin and her husband, Seán and Eibhlín (Andrew Bennett and Carrie Crowley), while her mother prepares for yet another baby and Cáit's boorish father pursues his own interests.

One of Catherine Clinch's many achievements is the way in which she wordlessly communicates Cáit's miserable feelings about being an outsider, an observer, and then her delight in discovering how well she fits in at her new home.

Seán and Eibhlín live on a productive dairy farm, in a much bigger house than Cáit's, with plentiful food. They're warm and caring, but there's something odd bubbling below the surface. Seán, usually a calm, favourite-uncle sort of person, loses his temper completely when Cáit briefly goes missing from the cowshed. Something is clearly wrong. Has Eibhlín told the truth when she tells Cáit there are no secrets in their home?

Colm Bairéad's two previous films were documentaries about Ireland. The Quiet Girl is his first feature film, with no sign of the directorial hand of a documentary maker. No facts here, no politics, just fiction that speaks the truth. It's a work of art, with wonderful cinematography by Kate McCullough (Normal People, 2020) and a suitably haunting soundtrack by Stephen Rennicks (Room, 2015).

There's a lot that's relevant to all of us in the insights The Quiet Girl gives into parenting, social status, attitudes to work, and above all, love and understanding. Small things illustrate universality. Basics of domestic life, such as clothes and wallpaper, contain layers of meaning.

Seán and Eibhlín are the epitome of kind foster parents, welcoming Cáit selflessly despite their own hidden, sad burden, which could have turned them into embittered, lonely people. The gentle unfolding of the relationship between Cáit and Seán is a standout in this exquisite slice of life.

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Giveaway

The first person to bring an image or hard copy of this review to Starlight Cinema Taupo qualifies for a free ticket to The Quiet Girl.