Review: 'The Quiet Girl' is an Irish drama that packs a lot of emotion under its serene surface

As the title implies, the Irish drama “The Quiet Girl” does have a reserved, pensive tone — but there are some powerful emotions brewing under the placid surface of this film, which is one of the nominees in the Academy Awards’ international film category.

Set in a rural part of Ireland, around 1981, the film centers on Cáit (played by newcomer Catherine Clinch), who’s maybe 10 or 12 years old. She’s a middle child in an overstuffed family, where Mam (Kate Nic Chonaonaigh) is pregnant again, and Da (Michael Patric) is spending too much time at the pub. Cáit, too young to go off with her older sisters and too old to be treated like a child, often is left alone, fading into the background.

With the new baby’s imminent arrival, Mam decides that Cáit would be better off going somewhere else for awhile. She makes arrangements to have Cáit spend the summer with an older couple, distant relatives of Mam on a dairy farm a couple hours’ drive away. Da drives her to the farm, but drives away before remembering to unload Cáit’s suitcase.

The woman of the house, Eibhlin (Carrie Crowley), gives Cáit a warm welcome, shows her around the farmhouse, invites her to join in some cooking, and finds some boys’ clothes in a spare room that Cáit can wear. Eibhlin’s husband, Seán (Andrew Bennett), stays at a distance, but eventually warms to the girl, who’s eager to join in the chores and help out on the farm.

Over time, Cáit warms to farm life, and comes out of her shell. But when a neighbor woman, Úna (Joan Sheehy), starts gossiping about Eibhlin and Seán, Cáit starts to question whether everything is what it seems with her new guardians.

Writer-director Colm Bairéad, adapting a 2010 short story by Irish writer Claire Keegan, focuses tightly on Cáit, the calm center of all the excitement going on around her — whether it’s the domestic chaos of Mam and her family, or the life among adults on the farm. Some child actors might wither under such a spotlight, but Clinch is a poised and quietly emotional young performer. 

What’s most remarkable about “The Quiet Girl” is the detail Bairéad imbues to the Irish country life, and the emotional specificity he delivers in every scene. It’s a movie that moves subtly, almost imperceptibly, but packs an emotional punch all the same.

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‘The Quiet Girl’

★★★1/2

Opens Friday, March 10, at the Broadway Centre Cinemas (Salt Lake City). Rated PG-13 for some strong language and smoking. Running time: 96 minutes, in Irish Gaelic with subtitles.