The Quiet Room

Running time: N/A

Unnamed and innocent, the seven-year-old girl in Rolf de Heer's The Quiet Room represents the fear and naivete in all of us. The world seems to be falling in on this little one's life, as she watches the slow, almost agonizing, disintegration of her parents' marriage. In almost protest of their fading love, she has refused to speak to them and has withdrawn inside herself. When her parents speak to her, she does not answer, but we are privy to her innermost thoughts via the deeply personal voice over with which we are given the family's story. It is through the girl's "inner voice" that we learn she wants to move to the country and have a dog, how she thinks about death when her goldfish die, and especially how she wishes things at home were how they used to be; a time when they were all very happy. But her parents are so caught up in their daily dilemma that they do not see the strain they have placed on their daughter, not even through the drawings with which she has decided to convey her anger and frustration. Rarely is there a film told from a child's point of view which truly represents a "real" child's way of thinking, but Rolf de Heer intimately captures the child's perfect essence within her "quiet room". Her words are sometimes humorous and with brutal honesty, as she does not completely understand adults, but with her innocence often stumbles upon sincere irony. What truly makes this film a treasure, however, is Chloe Ferguson's performance as the young girl. Although silent for most of the film, she finds a way to express volumes of emotions with but a single look or facial expression.