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All quiet on the Aussie front The Quiet Room examines childhood silence by MATTHEW HAYS
A new film from Australia, The Quiet Room, also examines the power of speech from a child's perspective. A seven-year-old girl, played beautifully by Chloe Ferguson, ceases to speak when her parents begin to fight. This innovative film, by director Rolf de Heer, is told entirely from her perspective. Her inner monologue is heard throughout, as she contradicts virtually everything her parents say.
What's amazing is de Heer's ability to avoid any sensationalism in the telling of Ferguson's story. She plays with her Barbie dolls (setting them up to have a party) as the sound of her parents fighting fills the house. The most painful moments come when Ferguson actually hears Mom and Dad coming to blows; this scene prompts her to speak, yelling out for them to stop (they don't hear her plea). The parents are admirably played by Celine O'Leary and Paul Blackwell, and some of their strongest moments come when they are heard but not seen. Protesting their escalating marital break, Ferguson hides in a cupboard, leaving the impression that she's run away. De Heer keeps the camera on Ferguson for the entire scene as we hear her parents panic, thinking she's gone awol. A report from Cannes '96, where the film premiered, indicated that de Heer had altered the conclusion of The Quiet Room at the request of its distributor, Miramax. Though it's a pity there was any tampering with his vision, the film doesn't appear to have suffered. The Quiet Room emerges as the best kind of experimental film, delving into areas so often overlooked by filmmakers: a nontraditional point of view and the effect of sound on an audience. While its premise sounds simple in description, The Quiet Room unveils the greater complexity of the childhood psyche in distress. The Quiet Room opens this Friday, July 4, at the Cinéma du Parc. See repertory listings for showtimes |
Poet Maya Angelou often tells a harrowing recollection from her childhood. When she was seven years old, she was raped by a man who lived in her town. She told a family member what had been done to her; within days, word had gotten around. The man who had committed the crime was cornered in broad daylight in the town and was beaten to death by a crowd. Learning the power of words, Angelou was so horrified by the event that she simply stopped speaking. For several years she did not utter a word to anyone.
Thankfully, de Heer doesn't set up Ferguson's parents as evil or neglectful. They are a couple in the throes of a breakup, and though their marriage isn't working, they are caring parents. Ferguson's response to the trouble is to withdraw into her own world and to recall the family's happier times together.