The Quiet Girl achieved an overall appreciation score of 90%. Many members found this beautiful and incredibly emotional, while others found the film monotonous and overly sentimental. Some of the comments submitted:
- A true work of art. Enjoyed every moment. Thanks.
- I adored this film. Although the emotional beats were somewhat signposted, I didn’t care, and found myself in tears at two or three points during the film. Wonderful performances from all the leads, and The Quiet Girl herself was a quiet revelation. The cinematography was superb, moving us from that dank, loveless hovel to the love-filled brightness of her adoptive home, then immersing us in the verdant Irish countryside. A wonderful uplifting study in kindness, grief and the power of love (or lack of). A real gem. Thank you.
- Wonderful film. A simple premise but brilliantly told. The ending was incredibly emotional and will stay with me for some time.
- As good as the book (‘Foster’) and the best film screened at CFS for the past couple of years.
- Beautiful film, good subtle acting, lovely photography, rather dreamlike countryside and – when I noticed it – good music score too. Rather shocking end, not sure what to make of it as it raised rather more disturbing questions than I like at the end of a film.
- What a beautiful film. Quiet yet powerful and so moving. Would give a higher rating than an A if it were possible.
- Lovely film with excellent portrayal of the contrast between the two families. Subtitles would have been helpful, not only for the spoken Irish parts but not all the speech in English was completely clear. The final scenes are especially moving, not least because of the conspicuous absence of tactile contact throughout, until the very end.
- A story about love delicately told with such touching scenes – the biscuit laid on the table for Cait, Cait determined to help the husband in sweeping out the barns, Sian (husband) getting Cait to race to the post box and her joy of doing so etc. etc…and the final scene – should not have been a dry eye in the house!
- What a beautiful film. It brought back lovely memories of my childhood in Ireland on my grandparents farm. It was so charmingly filmed. The actors were brilliant and so real. Tears at the end. 10 out 10. I didn’t want it to end.
- A lovely tender film, with wonderful acting and cinematography. Cait’s blossoming and emerging sense of self in the loving household of her relatives was beautifully done, as was the development of Cait’s relationship with Sean. Catherine Clinch, the young actress who played Cait was extraordinary in a film which featured her in nearly every shot.
- Beautiful film, lovely period detail and scenery and interesting to hear the Irish language though slightly tricky when mumbled English was thrown in. Cop out ending..
- Gripping story Good characters but wish ending had been a bit more conclusive.
- A great example of a slow-burn. Dragged a little to begin with but really developed throughout. Heart-breaking and hopeful in equal measure. My only real criticism was that it needed more context – time, place within Ireland etc. Familial relationships only became truly apparent roughly halfway through the film, otherwise difficult to work out how characters were connected (and why main character was sent away in the first place). Otherwise a good watch and emotive piece of film-making.
- There was no change in the tone of the film from start to finish which made it monotonous and eventually unenjoyable. Good acting.
- I am not a fan of this sort of film – too sentimental and 2 dimensional for my tastes. I saw quite a few films like this, starring Hayley Mills in the 60s! It would have made for a passable evening’s viewing on TV when nothing else was on. I did have a tiny tear in my eye in the last scene and because the ending was so ambivalent, this saved the film for being rated D.
- Far too much effort to create charm and an Arcadian Irish idyll. Ham-fisted direction, leaden acting, thin script – and, in the end, that final fatal blow: I could not see any point in any of it, and no interest or sympathy with the characters had been excited in me. I saw this film not at CFS but elsewhere about a year ago, and I walked out after about 45 minutes.