The Quiet Room (1996)

Director:

Rolf de Heer

Writer:

Rolf de Heer (written by)

Release Date:

21 March 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Sometimes silence speaks volumes.

Plot Keywords:

Marital Separation | Father Daughter Relationship | Marriage | Mother Daughter Relationship | Dysfunctional Family

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Celine O'Leary	...	Mother
Paul Blackwell	...	Father
Chloe Ferguson	...	Girl Age 7
Phoebe Ferguson	...	Girl Age 3
Kate Greetham	...	Kate, the Babysitter
Todd Telford	...	Workman
Peter Ferris	...	Carpet Cleaner
Peter Green	...	Carpet Cleaner

Also Known As:

La stanza di Cloe (Italy)

MPAA:

Rated PG for language and thematic elements involving a child affected by domestic discord.

Runtime:

Australia:93 min | USA:92 min | Argentina:93 min

Country:

Australia | Italy | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Spain:13 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Company:

Fandango

Trivia:

Colors are quite important in this movie. The girl feels empty, alone, when she's surrounded and dressed in blue. Whenever people are happy, they're red, e.g. in the end when the girl starts talking, she suddenly wears a very red sweater, in stead of the usual blue clothes

Soundtrack:

Row Row Row Your Boat

The mind of a child?

I was very interested in the premise of the story as described on the cover...that a young girl, without the words to express what she feels, becomes convinced of the uselessness of words and stops talking. I think this is brilliant! (I often wonder what is in my own children's minds when they stare off in silence.)

However, I was quite unimpressed with the story's unfolding. I was left feeling rather annoyed by the abundant use of voice over which spoiled the whole idea of her silence for me. I wanted to see things as she saw them and feel the tension that only silence can create but instead I was assaulted by a constant stream of interpretations and explanations that were already there in the action or in her beautifully expressive face.

While the child actors were usually very engaging, I found it difficult to reconcile the erratic speech patterns as written, especially in the adults, with an interpretation of the world from the young girl's point of view.

In all, I was disappointed. Such a wonderful premise but such poor writing and character development.

Deep sigh.