Today we’ve got a trailer for Beth de Araújo’s Soft & Quiet, a thriller that premiered earlier this year at the SXSW Film Festival. Critical reactions to Araújo’s debut feature were strong (it’s currently rocking an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes), but also tended to include a big caveat: Soft & Quiet is intense and upsetting, maybe even too intense and upsetting for some audience members.
First, let’s get the official plot synopsis outta the way:
“Playing out in real-time, Soft & Quiet is a runaway train that follows a single afternoon in the life of an elementary school teacher, Emily, who organizes an inaugural club meeting of like-minded women. When they all decide to move the meeting to Emily’s house to keep the wine flowing, they stop at the local store to pick up refreshments. At the store, an altercation breaks out between a woman from Emily’s past and the group, leading to a volatile chain of events.”
Two things worth noting here: one, the mention of the film playing out in “real-time.” This is true! Soft & Quiet is one of those single-take movies (apparently they filmed the entire thing multiple times) and, according to critics, uses this format to its natural advantage when building up all the tension that drives the film. Secondly, do take note of the phrase “like-minded women.” What kind of like-minded women? The kind you probably don’t wanna be in the same room with.
Let’s take a look at the trailer.
If you’re still unclear on what sort of club meeting this is, I won’t be the one to spell it out for you. The hints are here (and the details are discussed explicitly in the film’s reviews), but this feels like a movie that might best be experienced with as little information upfront as possible. I certainly wish I’d held off on reading those reviews, positive as they may be!
Anyway, we’re very intrigued about this one! The film hits theaters in just a few weeks – November 4th, to be precise – and we’ll definitely be checking it out. Stay tuned for more on Soft & Quiet as further updates become available.
