Premise achiever extraordinaire. You want The Quiet Girl. You got The Quiet Girl. Cáit (Catherine Clinch) doesn’t say much. Ever. Oh, her eyes and countenance speak volumes, but her words are only brought out for special occasions. She keeps them under a pillow in the 20% of bed she’s allowed to occupy.
Reinforcing one of the great stereotypes of Europe, this Irish family has too many children. With Mam very pregnant -again- and Da into half-assing his family, it’s time to send the quiet one away. Personally, I think you’d keep the quiet one around; she doesn’t say anything. It’s the buggers who won’t keep their feckin’ traps shut that need a goin’. Perhaps Da is embarrassed that Cáit and his new GF are in the same class at school. :rimshot:
The cliché of a drunk, abusive Irish father has been happily avoided. Yes, Da (Michael Patric) is a loafer and a womanizer and gives his family the same support as a training bra would for Dolly Parton but at least he’s not an abusive drunk. Of course, he goes out of his way to dump Cáit at the house of a distant relative and drives off without getting her suitcase out of the trunk. But at least he’s not an abusive drunk.
Eibhlín and Seán (Carrie Crowley and Andrew Bennett) have a small farm some hours away where they raise cattle and Celtic verbs. Cáit is standoffish and quiet, but girl you just won the lottery. You went from people who don’t care about you to people who do. When 
you’re under twenty, that’s pretty much the sum total of what matters in life. This is the relationship we approve of and this is where the film spends its time.
The Quiet Girl is quiet, girl. It’s a picture with little fanfare or action. Some might call it boring … or aggravating waiting for the girl to speak up. They wouldn’t be wrong. But it’s also a very moving picture. If you invest five minutes in the film, you have to stay to the end. Because there will be no satisfaction from the tale of this mock orphan until it comes full circle.
Do you know Anne of Green Gables? AKA “Anne with an E.” Yeah, I know it’s on the other side of the Atlantic and removed by about a century. Can’t help that, but it’s the same story. Orphan girl with audience sympathy has to find her way new parents destined to love her because only her birth parents couldn’t. It’s the kind of story that is long in the telling, but has a great payoff.
Cáit doesn’t say much because
Her people don’t give her applause
She’s smart as can be
And yet, doncha see?
I speak just as much Celtic as she does
Rated PG-13, 95 Minutes
Director: Colm Bairéad
Writer: Colm Bairéad
Genre: You’re gonna cry
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Academy voters
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Action heroes
