By Louise barretto

The Quiet Girl, adapted from Claire Keegan’s novella Foster, is a film that showcases the actors’ performances without any bells and whistles. And it is a damn fine film for it. In his directorial feature debut, Colm Bairéad focuses his lens on nine-year-old Cáit (played by the brilliant Catherine Clinch), who can be considered the quiet one amongst many siblings. Set in rural Ireland, Cáit’s parents have their hands full with a baby on the way and are neglectful of Cáit. 

As they say, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and Cáit is not the type to draw attention to herself. The film opens with her hiding in the grassy fields while her whole family screams for her. It’s almost like she wants to disappear and be invisible. Perhaps, it is this reticence that prompted her parents to send her to a distant relative’s farm for the summer. She is one less mouth to feed and attend to, if only temporarily. At the new farm, Eibhlín Kinsella (Carrie Crowley) and Seán Kinsella (Andrew Bennett) include Cáit in their day to day lives, teaching her how to vacuum the carpet, peel potatoes and feed the cows. It’s all unspectacular and mundane, but those moments speak volumes to Cáit and her newly found family. Cáit’s soft presence in the childless couple’s life subtly invigorates their relationship with each other. 

Bairéad delicately balanced the pregnant pauses of the film and allowed his actors to shine especially for scenes between Crowley and Clinch. The film touches on the maternal instincts that kick in when an innocent, helpless child needs care and nurturing. And then it also hits you in another way, feeling like you are in Cáit’s shoes and experiencing it all through her eyes. For Cáit, the juxtaposition of absentee biological parents with the kindness and mindfulness of her foster parents is pivotal and paradigm shifting, and she will never be the same again. 

In the live Q&A with Bairéad and producer Cleona Ní Chrualaoí, who are married with 2 kids, Bairéad mentioned that becoming a father has deeply informed his storytelling. This film wrecked me to pieces and forced me to dig deep within myself on why it hit me as hard as it did. I’m still figuring it out, but some films can tell a simple story that speaks volumes without spelling it out for you. 

The Quiet Girl is BAFTA-nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film Not in the English Language, Oscar-nominated for Best International film, and has won a Crystal Bear at Berlinale.