Soft and Quiet

I recently watched an independent film on Prime Video called "Soft and Quiet." It's also available for rent on Prime and other platforms, but I'm wondering if it's worth the investment.

The movie revolves around an elementary school teacher who organizes a gathering of like-minded women. However, when she encounters a woman from her past, it sets off a series of intense events. The story unfolds in real time, presenting a continuous take or edited to appear as one. As viewers, we are immersed in the events, feeling as though they are happening right in front of us. I find this approach intriguing and captivating when executed well.

The protagonist, Kim, is a kindergarten teacher who arranges a meeting with other women. It becomes evident that they are not the most tolerant individuals, as they are all white and in their 20s to late 40s. It's easy to predict where the story is heading. They form a new group and discuss their goals, revealing their beliefs and attitudes towards those who are different from them. The movie employs pointed satire, highlighting contradictions in their words and actions. For instance, they claim to embrace femininity rather than feminism but exhibit condescending and emasculating behavior when interacting with men. This contradiction exposes their shallow understanding of femininity.

While the continuous take appearance adds an immersive quality to the film, it is also one of its major drawbacks. We are subjected to tedious and uneventful moments that unnecessarily prolong the story without pushing the narrative forward. While I don't mind occasional moments of slowness, this film is filled with them. For instance, we watch Kim walking from her school to the meeting location. Initially, this provides some natural sounds and a glimpse into her character through a voicemail she listens to. However, the subsequent minutes spent following her on the path become uninteresting and tedious, detracting from the storytelling and disconnecting me from the movie.

The film lacks nuance and subtlety, delivering its messages in a blatant and heavy-handed manner. While this approach eliminates ambiguity, it feels clumsy and unpolished in this particular case. The dialogue sometimes feels improvised by the cast, resulting in stilted and shallow exchanges. It appears as though they are desperately searching for something to say to avoid awkward silences.

In the latter part of the film, the characters talk and yell over each other, adding to the chaotic atmosphere on screen. While this adds realism, it makes it incredibly challenging to discern what each character is saying. The story follows a predictable trajectory, with emotions escalating and decisions compounding to create dire situations. There is a sense of fervor captured in the delivery, albeit cringeworthy and obvious. Some actions in the film even border on exploitation, unintentionally detracting from the intended storytelling.

Nearly all the characters are despicable, and this is by design. The audience is not meant to experience conflicted emotions toward them. They are portrayed as horrible and hateful individuals who act even worse. However, this brings me to the aspect that prevented me from fully enjoying the movie. The final scene, while contextualized, could be off-putting to non-white viewers. It feels like torture porn without any sense of justice or consequence. Although there is a suggestion of potential consequences, the film never explores them. Considering the lack of nuance and subtlety throughout, the open and unresolved ending leaves a bitter taste. I wanted to witness justice being served after enduring the immense injustice portrayed in the story. Unfortunately, this expectation was not met.

Despite its flaws, I wanted to like this film more. The decision to use the continuous take effect was bold and mostly successful in building a sense of apprehension and dread. The characters are effectively heinous, effectively highlighting the contradictions between their words and actions. Despite the monotonous actions and lack of subtlety in the messaging, I found myself drawn to the unfolding events, although they were stomach-turning. I appreciate the film's attempt to provoke discussion, as it addresses an important topic. However, it should have been handled in a way that doesn't continuously batter certain groups of people. Regrettably, the film devolves into showcasing trauma without offering a redemptive arc or comeuppance for the villains.

The movie contains no sexual content or nudity, but it has an excessive amount of profanity and depicts disturbing acts of violence, including sexual assault. Overall, I rate "Soft and Quiet" two out of five couches.

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