Soft & Quiet

The initial fifteen minutes of the film managed to capture my interest, presenting a premise that seemed promising. However, as the movie progressed, it quickly lost any sense of tension and fell into a predictable pattern that felt more like propaganda than genuine storytelling. What kept it somewhat engaging was the novelty factor, though this was short-lived as it soon became clear that the film struggled with relatability. Interestingly, the narrative seemed to lean heavily on a male character as the sole voice of reason, which felt rather one-dimensional. The performances came across as hurried, lacking depth and nuance, and the script itself left much to be desired, riddled with clichés and lacking in substance. It was evident that the film aimed to convey a specific message, but the approach felt heavy-handed, undermining any potential for a nuanced or impactful discussion. In summary, while the film started with a spark of intrigue, it quickly devolved into a disappointing endeavor that failed to deliver a compelling or thought-provoking experience.

A group of ladies is convened, they all have a common theme, disgruntled you could say, pure vitriol they spray, feel as if they've been let down, these diverse days make them frown, they don't have a lot to ask, from behind their hateful mask, so they're going to drop an anchor, that will make you grate with rancour, leave you stunned and disbelieving, as your eyebrows hit the ceiling, you may know people like this, living life in an abyss, a soft and quiet outer shell, but inside under a spell.

You probably haven't seen anything like this, top marks for individuality and the ability to get you shouting at the screen as you witness what you hope is full fat fiction but you know there are those who harbour these convictions.

That's how extremists are bred, that is exactly how the notions of extremism manifest.

There are only a handful of films that make me feel nauseated and uncomfortable. I have seen tons of vile stuff in my life; but there were only a couple of instances where I flinched, where my conscience got in the way and told me to ease off and breathe.

Soft & Quiet, as it seems made its way into that list

Everything about this film had me fuming & infuriated, in a good way though! I mean all those arguments that blatantly talked about racial supremacies and ethnic segregation; they were all supposed to make the audience feel enraged and enflamed with anger and rage and now looking at the aftereffect, I must say, they did serve their purpose just fine.

I was feeling so suffocated, I was furious the whole time; the characters were meant to be detested and the actors playing those parts made sure that was indeed the case. Some terrific acting there, cause I wanted all of them to die terrible deaths. It pains me to even think that people like them exist in our society, what a shame!

Blumhouse has a knack for provocation---and though not standardized horror or thriller in the Blumhouse mold, it lies in its own subgenre of fragile white identities gone extreme much like the fringey elements of American History X did in the past. If this film makes you uncomfortable, then it delivered its message successfully, in a one take, hardline address of racism in the US and the tendencies they bring out in what first appears to be "normal everyday group of women" meeting up for a post-workday friendly "workshop" of thoughts and daily agenda. Sounds innocent enough, but it takes no longer than the foil coming off a dessert to show what lies beneath. It's not pretty folks, but that is the gist of the narrative, that the unfounded hate and discrimination is indeed very ugly and you watch it unfold in a slick, non-gimmicky little dark film that doesn't exploit but rips the bandaid off the wound that is extremism and the violence that hides beneath. In plain sight in fact.

Does this help or heal? Neither actually, but shows what it all looks like upclose and feels all too real at times, in these times.

7 1/2 out of 10.

Wow. This is one of those genuine cases of the less you know going in, the harder the film is going to hit. Everything seems normal until along comes - a shot of a pie. And nothing is the same from there out. This was a tough watch but also a really enjoyable one.

The whole film is shot as a continuous tracking shot, similar to Sam Mendes' '1917'. I understand that the films aren't actually shot this way but it doesn't bother me. I love the raw nature it provides the film.

I find this kind of movie infinitely more scary than any ghost or monster movie. These are the real horrors of the world. These are the things you need to be genuinely scared of.

This one is heavy, tense and often a very uneasy watch. But it is a great case of getting every last drop out of a limited budget and producing a highly memorable movie that will stick with people long after the credits roll. 9/10.