“CHRISTIAN COMPASSION OVERCOMES EMOTIONAL ISOLATION”
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
THE QUIET GIRL is an Irish drama set in 1981 about a girl named Cait whose neglectful parents send her to live with their distant, wealthier cousins, Sean and Eibhlin. Cait suffers from bullying and bedwetting. It’s it difficult for her to form attachments. Sean and Eibhlin attend to her needs and help her grow emotionally in a healthy environment. Consequently, Cait opens up and comes to see them as positive parental figures because of their love and care.
American movies often romanticize dysfunctional relationships. It’s heartwarming, therefore, to see a movie like THE QUIET GIRL that powerfully depicts the power of compassionate, unconditional love to better the lives of people. What Cait severely lacks from her parents, she receives from her older cousins, without even thinking to ask. Their loving care helps Cait become less of a quiet girl, and to become an emotionally healthy, functioning person. By doing this with no expectation of getting anything in return, Cait’s new guardians show the love of Christ.
CONTENT:
(CC, BB, L, A, D, MM)
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:
Strong Christian, moral worldview promotes Christian, biblical values like compassion, unconditional love, kindness, patience, empathy, and selflessness, plus movie promotes healthy relationships between parental figures and children and positively portrays adoption/fostering
Foul Language:
Five obscenities (including three “f” words), two strong Jesus profanities, and multiple references to urination/bedwetting
Violence:
No violence
Sex:
No sex
Nudity:
No nudity
Alcohol Use:
Vague verbal references to alcoholism
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:
Some smoking but no drugs; and,
Miscellaneous Immorality:
Biological parents give their daughter to two cousins to care for her, there are depiction of their parental neglect, and there is verbal bullying among schoolchildren.
MORE DETAIL:
Set in 1981, THE QUIET GIRL is the story of Cait, a little girl whose neglectful parents send her away to live with their distant, wealthier cousins, Sean and Eibhlin. Overwhelmed in a dysfunctional household with other, more outgoing siblings, Cait suffers from bullying and bedwetting. So, she struggles to form attachments. However, Sean and Eibhlin attend to her needs and help her grow emotionally in a healthy environment. She opens up to them and comes to see them as parental figures because of their love and care.
THE QUIET GIRL is a rousing victory for Irish cinema. It is the highest-grossing Irish-language film of all time, and it became the first Irish picture ever nominated for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards. Moreover, it’s a beautifully told, well-acted story about how healthy, loving relationships between family members can heal the deep wounds of abuse, neglect and grief. Kate McCullough’s stunning cinematography makes even the most mundane moments poignant. Her work gives the movie a quality that may remind viewers of the work of acclaimed filmmaker Terence Malick.
In an era when American cinema repetitiously romanticizes dysfunctional relationships of every kind, it’s heartwarming to see Ireland produce a story that depicts with such moving hope the power of compassionate, unconditional love to better the lives of people who care for one another. What Cait severely lacks from her parents, she receives from Sean and Eibhlin, without even thinking to ask. That gentle kindness not only results in her becoming less of a quiet girl, but also helps her become an emotionally healthy, functioning human being. By intentionally effecting this outcome with no expectation of getting anything in return, Sean and Eibhlin show the love of Christ to their ward.
