‘We want to engage the mainstream…’
This won’t be a normal film review because Soft & Quiet isn’t a normal film. I went into this film knowing absolutely nothing about it and I can’t recommend that approach enough. I’m not going to mention anything about the plot here, instead, I’m going to focus on the emotional impact of this film and why it’s important…
From the mind of first-time writer/director Beth du Araújo, Soft & Quiet explores what happens when human beings succumb to mob mentality and their most base of instincts. It does this through a prism of race, class and entitlement. The near all-woman cast are asked to perform an incredibly emotionally draining piece all shot in real-time in one continuous take. The whole thing was performed four times with the bulk of the finished product coming in the fourth and final take. The results are literally breathtaking. I found the experience of watching this film so stressful and upsetting that I had to regularly take a break from looking at the screen to turn my attention towards my cat who was sleeping nicely throughout the whole film. As I write this, moments after the credits have rolled, I still feel genuinely anxious and shaken. This film is a technical triumph and it packs an emotional wallop but I could never imagine watching it again. Don’t make me.
Soft & Quiet is an unforgettable cinematic experience and while the ending feels a little rushed, as a whole this has to go down as an almost unqualified success. Pure cinema.