Tracker Pixel for Entry

​Beth de Araújo’s Gripping ‘Soft & Quiet’

Cinema | January 29th, 2023

By Greg Carlson

gregcarlson1@gmail.com

Beth de Araújo’s stunning “Soft & Quiet” plays out in real time, moving swiftly from its carefully calculated opening section to pick up speed as it rockets from one deeply unsettling sequence to the next. It is as terrifying as any film of 2022, a gripping thriller exposing grotesque anger and the jaw-dropping gears of the persecution complex embraced by the far-right. The first-time feature filmmaker wrote the screenplay after being inspired by the May 2020 confrontation between bird-watcher Christian Cooper and dog-walker Amy Cooper in New York City’s Central Park. The racially-charged interaction, like the murder of George Floyd that occurred on the very same day, was partially captured on video and posted online.

De Araújo introduces elementary school teacher Emily (Stefanie Estes) crying over a pregnancy test in a bathroom stall after nearly everyone else in the building has gone home for the day. The moment is shrewd and deceptive; the director misleads viewers by setting up the conditions for sympathetic identification. We’re inclined to like this person, or at least feel some pity for her. But Emily’s distress is followed by a strange interaction in which blame for a custodian’s freshly mopped and potentially slippery floor is wrapped in racist intimations. Something is not right, even if we’re not quite sure where all this is all going.

The mystery deepens as Emily walks along a wooded path, encountering another woman who turns out to be headed to the same destination. They enter a church meeting room populated by several others. Small talk and pleasantries give way to the sinister agenda as a growing list of ideas is recorded on a white board. It’s the inaugural gathering of the Daughters of Aryan Unity. Like Jeremy Saulnier’s excellent “Green Room,” the depiction of neo-Nazi adherents as essentially common, everyday folks you might encounter at the liquor store or a punk rock show sends a chill down the spine. Pointed hoods and burning crosses are not necessary to inspire terror – these monsters are neighbors and co-workers.

The combination of real time chronology with the nauseating escalation toward violence makes “Soft & Quiet” as powerful as it is difficult to watch. Although the final version of the movie is not presented as one unbroken take, de Araújo rehearsed and choreographed with her ensemble as if they were performing a piece of live theatre. Four consecutive shooting days were completed. And while the majority of what we see comes from the last day, small bits and pieces from the second and third attempts were incorporated in the cut.

Once “Soft & Quiet” leads the audience past the point of no return during a tour de force sequence set at an otherwise peaceful lake cabin, de Araújo enters the dark and suffocating territory inhabited by the likes of Haneke’s “Funny Games,” Noé’s “Irréversible,” and Christian Tafdrup’s “Speak No Evil.” The latter, another 2022 release, matches the brutality of “Soft & Quiet” but I think de Araújo has made the superior film. Her movie is brimming with ideas while resolutely avoiding the assumption of moral high ground. There are no sermons, only actions. 

Recently in:

Proposed Bills Could Take Books off Library ShelvesBy Laura Simmonslaurasimmons2025@u.northwestern.edu The passing of ND House Bill 1205 and ND Senate Bill 2360, which would prevent sexually explicit books from being in public…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comHPR chats with a local legendThe following interview was done in February of 2016, just a few months after Mr. Josef Olivieri's 90th birthday. We're sorry to hear of his passing at the age of 97 on…

Tuesday, March 21, 6:30pmZandbroz Variety, FargoAuthor of “Boys and Oil: Growing Up Gay in a Fractured Land” Taylor Broby will discuss the important role libraries play in their communities as sanctuaries of acceptance. He will…

By John Strandjas@hpr1.comOur Opinion: Who on Earth would ever want to move to North Dakota?Let’s talk about the left hand and the right hand. Or, more correctly, let’s focus on the right hand, being as there is no left in ND…

By Ed Raymond  fargogadfly@gmail.comHas Christianity Gone Bankrupt Because of Evangelicals, Stupidity, and the Vatican?The word “bankruptcy” refers to money because…

Well shiver me timbers. After weeks of sampling some of the finest drinks in F-M from more bars than we could shake a belaying pin at, the results of High Plains Reader’s 6th Annual Cocktail Showdown are in! For nine weeks,…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.comWhen thinking of popular sandwiches associated with the Upper Midwest, the sloppy joe immediately comes to mind. But let’s not forget the sandwich with a spicy side – the taco grinder. It’s a…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Upon discovering the music of Arkansas-based musician Nick Shoulders, there are a couple of things that come to mind. At first listen it’s no secret that his sound is a celebration of past music…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.comOn Saturday, March 25, filmmaker Mike Flanagan returns to the Fargo Film Festival, where “Absentia,” his debut feature, made its world premiere in 2011. This time, he will be joined by his…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comIf you’ve ever driven down the Enchanted Highway, the 32-mile ribbon of road connecting Regent to Gladstone in western North Dakota, home to the world’s largest salvaged metal sculptures,…

By Jessica M. Hawkesjmhawkes84@gmail.comIt wasn’t long after the founding of the railroad and river town of New Rockford that entertainment venues started to put down their own roots. Its population bolstered by booms of nearby…

By Jan Syverson  Jan.r.Syverson@gmail.comFor the past 30 years live, stand-up comedy has had a place in the Fargo Moorhead area, Starting with…

By Kris Gruberperriex1@gmail.comSpring is here (mostly), and our area is buzzing with people eager to get back out and about -- many newly vaccinated and feeling a bit safer. Partnering with Jade Events, Fargo Brewing is just…

By John Showalter  john.d.showalter@gmail.comThey sell fentanyl test strips and kits to harm-reduction organizations and…

JANUARY 19, 1967– MARCH 8, 2023 Brittney Leigh Goodman, 56, of Fargo, N.D., passed away unexpectedly at her home on March 8, 2023. Brittney was born January 19, 1967, to Ruth Wilson Pollock and Donald Ray Goodman, in Hardinsburg,…

By Ken and Alice Christiansonsubmit@hpr1.com HB 1332 is currently before the North Dakota legislature. The bill proposes to permit social workers to use a discredited treatment method to convert the sexual orientation of gay and…