The Quiet: Hush hush, sweet cheerleader

Reviewer: Erin Donovan
Rating (out of 5): ****

Paying as much tribute to Douglas Sirk as her previous film But I'm a Cheerleader did to John Waters, Jamie Babbitt uses a sort of magic carpet ride of hyper-stylization to explore grief, sexual abuse, drug addiction, physical disability and sexual repression. What could have easily slid into teenage (read: inane) psychosexual dramagedy nonsense plays instead like an interesting little character piece drenched in syrup.

Recently orphaned deaf-mute Dot (Camilla Belle) goes to live with her godparents (Hal Hartley go-to's Martin Donovan and Edie Falco) and their cheerleader daughter Nina (Elisha Cuthbert). Since everyone believes Dot cannot hear (and thus not judge) under the guise of condescending inclusivity they use her as a constant human confessional to unburden their souls.

Cuthbert (The Girl Next Door) strikes a perfect tone with Nina, a young woman desperately hiding behind an austere mean girl ruse to cover for the abuse and neglect she receives at home. Dot fills out another dreary teenage girl fantasy of simply disappearing and being able to see people at their most honest. Michelle Yip is an amazing first-timer as Nina's best friend who uses jocular nastiness to conceal her homosexuality. Shawn Ashmore (X-Men's Iceman) is very charming as the school's star athlete -- convinced he is a sexual deviant for masturbating five times a day.

The DVD includes a lengthy series of featurettes outlining the process of script conception, location scouting, casting and the prop department's struggles to acquire fetal pigs for a fairly brutal biology class scene. It's a little disappointing that the filmmakers don't go more into the experience of working with Burnt Orange, a production company started by the University of Texas in Austin to give their masters students more hands on experience with film-making and marketing.

See also: Heathers, Virgin Suicides, Brick, Poison Ivy, Storytelling, Heavenly Creatures, Eve's Bayou.