While it almost takes on a campy air, distasteful subject matter prevents it from being little more than exploitative nonsense.
The Quiet (2006)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:92
Fresh:20
Rotten:72
Average Rating:4/10
Consensus: This psychological thriller's talented cast is undercut by leaden pacing and a problematic plot.
Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Jamie Babbitt (GILMORE GIRLS) makes his feature debut with this suburban melodrama tinged with the trappings of exploitation films and Gothic horror. Dot (Camilla Belle, THE CHUMSCRUBBER) is a deaf... Jamie Babbitt (GILMORE GIRLS) makes his feature debut with this suburban melodrama tinged with the trappings of exploitation films and Gothic horror. Dot (Camilla Belle, THE CHUMSCRUBBER) is a deaf and mute girl with a troubled past: her mother died when she was seven, and now her deaf father has been run over by a truck. Things get much worse for Dot, however, when she moves in with the Deer family, who make no attempt to hide their dark secrets from her. Patriarch Paul Deer (Martin Donovan) is having an incestuous relationship with his cheerleader daughter, Nina (Elisha Cuthbert, LOVE, ACTUALLY), who spends much of her time lashing out at the new addition to the family. Mother Olivia remains oblivious, shrouded in a haze of pills. Slowly, the two girls come to a tenuous understanding with one another, united in the secrets they share. The shocking conclusion is unexpectedly lurid given the quietness of the film's first half, and the two actresses carry the material beautifully. The coldly lit interior of the family home, which is undergoing renovations, ,creates an utterly creepy backdrop and sets the mood for this tone poem of suburban distress. [More]
Starring: Elisha Cuthbert, Camilla Belle, Edie Falco, Martin Donovan
Starring: Elisha Cuthbert, Camilla Belle, Edie Falco, Martin Donovan, Shawn Ashmore
Director: Jamie Babbitt
Director: Jamie Babbitt
Screenwriter: Abdi Nazemian, Micah Schraft
Composer: Jeff Rona
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
Reviews for The Quiet
Sometimes a movie is so repulsive and devoid of redeeming material that afterward, you're certain it doesn't deserve to exist.
It's a complete fraud that never feels the least bit authentic in its efforts to titillate and shock.
The Quiet is in such bad taste that it's a shame the thriller doesn't make a better bad movie.
From pill popping to promiscuity to bloodlust and incest, The Quiet is not a happy, family film, unless your family is the Osbournes.
If it were a little bit worse, it could be a camp classic. As it is, this movie is just a snooze.
... a lamentable waste of genuine talent, an example of how a weak link spoils a collaborative effort
As the picture gets wilder and the performances achieve a Telemundo-broad pitch, Babbit keeps this trainwreck engrossing
Forget Snakes on a Plane -- The Quiet is the new camp classic of the summer.
The film could have been re-jiggered as a psychotic after-school special, straightforward, without all the so-called twists that seem to be a requirement of thrillers today.
... lost in the twilight between Gothic social drama and lurid exploitation.
In the most inappropriate moments, the film slides into archly dark humor, even bombast. The prompted urges to laugh tend less to defuse the sting and more to render banal.
The direction by Jamie Babbit, a young filmmaker who has done mostly television dramas, is sure and close in a modern noir way.
An unnerving little psychological study that makes the most of the high-def aesthetic.
The score is good, with lots of Beethoven, who, not surprisingly, is Dot's favorite composer.
The director combines an angst-ridden look at suburban perversions with a teen titillation comedy, and the final product often comes off as pretentious, crass and overwrought.
The Quiet doesn't have the wit of American Beauty, and, in fact, what's most interesting about it is its weirdly blank haziness.
Trapped between edgy art flick and exploitation psychothriller, The Quiet manages to be neither, and manages to be pretty awful in the bargain.
It teeters between being a campy horror film, a dark comedy ... and a sleazy Wild Things-style teen sexfest.
Latest News for The Quiet
August 24, 2006:
Box Office Preview: Invincible Aims for First Place Finish
Another wave of new releases hits the multiplexes across North America this weekend in hopes of capturing the final dollars of the summer movie season. More...
August 24, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "Invincible," "Worms" Score; "Idlewild," "Beerfest" Mixed
This week at the movies, we've got four underdog stories. An average Joe tries to play pro football ("Invincible," starring Mark Wahlberg), the new kid in school tries... More...
More DVDs
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 67% 67% | Public Enemies |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 95% 95% | The Cove |
| 85% 85% | World's Greatest Dad |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Fresh Links
Featured

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.



Top Critic

