The Quiet Girl is Cait, we first see her she is being called by her mother lying completely still in a field surrounded by brush. Her mother is heavily pregnant and has another baby taking up her time, along with Cait’s three older siblings she deemed too much work for the family so is sent away for the summer. Her father takes her three hours south to her mother's cousin, a childless couple who will look after her during the summer holidays. Cait is uneasy at first, not used to attention and affection but slowly she begins to enjoy her time on the farm.
The performances are all excellent, I found Carrie Crowley particularly good playing the kind and elegant matriarch Eibhlin. She is tasked with the most dialogue in the film. Which can be a thankless role when a film has so little dialogue, but when she speaks she speaks with a slow quietness that doesn’t disturb the mood or vibe.
Herself and her husband carry a sadness but they are not depressed or miserable, there is lots of happiness and love in their house. Andrew Bennet plays Sean her husband and its a more traditional role, the quiet but nice husband, he manages to add pathos and depth to what could have been a straightforward part. Young Cait is played by newcomer Catherine Clinch and it is a really terrific debut, a slow and thoughtful performance and the movie wouldn’t work without her.
Sometimes films like this, set in relatively fairly recent history. They can beat you around the head with it trying to tell you what year its set in. In this film there’s no tv being turned off during a big historical event or conversations about current pop culture to settle you into an era (some clips of the RTE quiz, Quicksilver though ). I know because the novella is set in the 70s that is when it is set, but really it could have been any time from 1960 to the early 90s. It's a small thing but the timelessness of the farm means something. There is a magical energy to the farm from the fresh water well to the cow shed.
This is a rare film. So quiet as the title suggest but it packs a real punch. The fact it manages to have weight to i without falling into the trap of a big act three incident is a testament to the storytelling. A third act incident simply isn’t needed, by the end you feel like you’ve seen Cait go through something life altering.
The Irish spoken is lyrical and soothing and adds to a beautiful score. I think the real stars of the film are cinematographer Kate McCullough and director Colm Bairead. They bring a Terrence Malick like serenity to the screen and the film just washes over you.
Even though it is a small contained story I would suggest seeing it in the cinema. I think this is the finest film made on this island in a very long time. It should be supported.
