The Quietest Sound
Twin Cities-based director James Vculek’s indie psychodrama sucks you in from the get-go. The first shot is the view of a police interrogation room as seen through a surveillance camera; the subject is the worn and devastated-looking Elizabeth (Catherine E. Johnson), whose young daughter was, she says, abducted days before from a Wal-Mart and hasn’t been seen since. For the next 70 minutes, we see a single continuous shot of Elizabeth, who seems to be unreasonably persecuted by an off-camera good-cop/bad-cop tag team (Michael Tezla and Chris Carlson) – until discrepancies pile up in Elizabeth’s story, and the interrogators begin to pursue an entirely different agenda. Johnson is totally commanding as the desperate young mother, revealing flashes of paranoia and evasiveness behind convincing despair. Towards the end of the proceedings, a mysterious videotape arrives, and Elizabeth’s mental labyrinth begins to unravel. Yet just when the police (and those in the audience) think they’ve solved the puzzle, a final twist appears to recast all that came before in a completely, tragically unexpected light. The Quietest Sound is a spare, Spartan little film, tough as nails in its way and as fascinating as it is discomfiting. I haven’t seen it with an audience, but I can imagine the collective gasp that runs through the room as Vculek reveals his final, totally silent frames. The Quietest Sound screens as part of Cinema Revolution’s monthly “Cinema des artistes” series. – Quinton Skinner, Minneapolis-St. Paul City Pages
AFF 2006 Review: The Quietest Sound November 8th, 2006
By Cole Abaius (www.filmschoolrejects.com)
Release Date: TBA
For most, the recent environment of cinema is the unthinkable mix of brilliant innovation and boring stagnation. The former, is characterized by filmmakers like Gondry and Aronofsky who are brave enough to play around with storytelling styles and camera work. The latter is characterized by the majority of films that can be found on the marquee at your local 800-screen mega-multiplex-o-rama. This situation has created high demand for independent films that take a different slant, but it seems that many of these films - admittedly amateurish - either rely solely on a hook or bypass being interesting in hopes of selling out. The Quietest Sound does not fall into these categories. With a shockingly innovative narrative style bolstered by an intense storyline, this film satisfies in a way most films can’t.The Quietest Sound has guts. It is one, seventy-five minute long, continuous shot of a woman as she sits in a police interrogation room. There are no cut-aways, no fade outs, no punch ins. What you see is what you get for over an hour. If that’s enough to get you to the screening, great. If it sounds like it might get boring, it doesn’t. Plus, the director, James Vculek, was smart enough to explain the gimmick within the story - it’s the camcorder tape that the detectives made of her interview, and they can’t turn it off or they risk facing scrutiny of falsification once the tape is used in a court of law. By this point in the movie, you realize you’re not watching a gimmick, you’re watching a great film.
Elizabeth (Catherine E. Johnson) is frantic. Brought into the police station for another round of questioning about her missing four-year old daughter Chloe (Eleanor Koster), she cannot understand why the police are wasting time recounting her details instead of out looking for the creepy man she saw just moments before losing her daughter in a Wal-Mart. On the other side of the table are Blake (Michael Tezla) and Ryan (Chris Carlson), the policemen trying to get to the truth. After a winding path of frustration, doubt, allegations of child abuse, unreliable details, and police bullying, the interview leads to a startling climax and a twist ending that leaves the audience ice cold.
One thing I can’t do enough is praise the concept of the film, but its execution is really what deserves the credit. Too often, films are made to stand on the legs of some clever hook alone. Too often, critics claim that an idea behind a film is good, but could have been done better. Too often, independent films stay below the radar because they deserve it. The Quietest Sound defies all of these to take a gripping story, tell it in a fascinating, different way, and tell it using capable actors. Catherine E. Johnson does an outstanding job as the worried young mother dealing with a missing child. She’s dynamic - vulnerable and submissive, but she grows in determination and then fluctuates between emotions as the policemen guide her along. It’s also impressive to see an actress handle herself on screen for over an hour and never lose an audience’s interest.
Oddly enough, there’s not much more to talk about - editing and cinematography don’t exist. But that’s a great thing. Imagine a film where storytelling, great storytelling, is the only focus. There are no explosions or fancy tricks, which may bother some, but for those out there that want to be brought near heart failure with only spoken words and a static camera, this film will deliver. It’s realistic, gritty, and a great mystery thriller that relies on its situation to shock. Considering the current movie environment and its lack of creativity or follow-through, more films like The Quietest Sound need to be made.
The Upside: A completely different narrative style, done well.
The Downside: It takes a few moments to dig into this movie, and the rolling time/date marker at the camcorder’s bottom left corner is a nice touch, but it’s also a bit distracting.
On the Side: It was filmed entirely in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Final Grade: A
Movies: Minnesota-made 'The Quietest Sound' at Varsity
March 15, 2007
By Colin Covert Minneapolis Star Tribune
Nobody moves much in this Minnesota-made film, while its audience goes on a journey through suspense and shock. The camera remains fixed as two unseen policeman take a statement from Elizabeth, a young mother whose daughter, Chloe, has been missing for almost a week. Elizabeth's story -- a creepy man in a brown raincoat snatched Chloe -- wobbles beneath questioning, but the film's chilling finale recalls the old adage, "just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you." The film boasts a stellar performance by Catherine E. Johnson, and writer-director James Vculek captures the rising tension in a single shot that transcends gimmickry. (7 p.m. Tue., Varsity Theater, 1308 SE. 4th St., Mpls. $5. 612-879-5579.)
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