tomcanning-01815 Reviews

The Quiet Girl (2022)

Reflective. Outstanding. Quiet.

[9/10 · 26 June 2022]

This film demands (and deserves) attention. Not just because of the subtitling for us non-Irish speakers but because of the subtle, beautiful, tiny moments of connection which are the heart of this film.

I'm glad that I went to see this in the cinema because elsewhere the quiet, slow pace might be easily interrupted, the spell might be broken, but this film deserves your full attention.

The story lingers beautifully around the most mundane things. A macaroon left on a table. Counting hairbrush strokes. Even peeling potatoes. In a film (as the title would suggest) light on prolonged dialogue, in which so much is unspoken, these tiny actions convey so much more than words could.

The result is an absolute gem of a film. Go and see it for yourself. Lose yourself in its world.

True Things (2021)

A Reflective Meditation

[6/10 · 15 June 2022]

This film probably won't change the world. It doesn't contain life-altering wisdom or beautiful moments of insight. It is a very restrained, very subtle piece, essentially a two-handed stage play, with a pair of talented actors delivering understated performances.

This is a double-edged sword. The down-to-earth realism means that the story drifts quietly along, as do the characters, before just kind of ending. This allows for some real moments of introspection, pause, and stillness (true things, one might say), but unfortunately it does leave a slightly pedestrian and forgettable impression. But maybe that isn't a bad thing for these types of films? I'd be interested to come back in a few years and see whether the impression has changed at all.