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<\/p>\nColm Bair\u00e9ad\u2019s The Quiet Girl is a deeply affecting work – I had tears running down my cheeks on the final scene.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re in rural Ireland in 1981. Cait (Catherine Clinch) (aged 9) is one of five children who keeps to herself, says very little but observes much. There is no love shown to her at home and she is struggling with reading at school. Her father is a lay-about who drinks too much and gambles. Money is scarce. It\u2019s no environment to be brought up in. As summer arrives and with a new baby about to add to this dysfunctional setting, Cait is sent to live with relatives on a farm three hours\u2019 drive away.<\/p>\n
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Her father drops her off, but all she has are the clothes on her back, because he forgets to take out the suitcase she has packed out. Eibhlin (Carrie Cowley) is a kind and caring woman who takes Cait under her wing and treats her gently. At first, her husband, Sean (Andrew Bennett), appears to want nothing to do with her. But, in time, he gets to greatly appreciate the person Cait is. In a house supposedly where no secrets are kept, there is one dark and painful truth that will unfold.<\/p>\n
The Quiet Girl is an Irish-language adaptation of the short story \u201cFoster\u201d, by Claire Keegan.\u00a0 First published in The New Yorker and named \u201cBest of the Year\u201d by the magazine, it was expanded and published as a standalone book in 2010. Writer-director Bair\u00e9ad first read Foster in 2018 and decided he would adapt it for the screen. The subject matter \u2013 neglect and grief \u2013 is beautifully and sensitively handled. That starts with the subtle script and extends to the fine acting. It\u2019s reflected in the striking cinematography by Kate McCullough and musical accompaniment from Stephen Rennicks. Bair\u00e9ad displays magnificent restraint in his direction.<\/p>\n