The Quiet

A withdrawn, deaf, and mute teen adopted by her godparents following the death of her single father finds that life in her dysfunctional new home can be quite deadly in But I'm a Cheerleader director Jamie Babbit's slick and tense teen thriller. The last word Dot (Camilla Belle) ever spoke was when ...more

When a movie grapples with issues as sobering as those in The Quiet, it feels irresponsible to hit it with the full brunt of one's critical scorn. However, just as it's possible to ineptly handle frivolous subject matter, it's also possible to drop the ball on incest, social alienation, prescription drug abuse, the death of parents, and teen deafness. The Quiet plays like a bunch of topical issues masquerading as an American Beauty knockoff, rather than an honest portrait of dysfunction. In ...more