The Quiet with Elisha Cuthbert Now Available on DVD

A withdrawn, deaf, and mute teen adopted by her godparents following the death of her single father finds that life in her dysfunctional new home can be quite deadly in But I'm a Cheerleader director Jamie Babbit's slick and tense teen thriller.

The last word Dot (Camilla Belle) ever spoke was when her mother died at the age of seven. Subsequently thrust into a world of silence as a result of her catastrophic loss, Dot lives in a world of withdrawn solitude. When the death of her father renders the muted teen both homeless and orphaned, her suburban godparents, Paul (Martin Donovan) and Olivia Deer (Edie Falco) readily agree to take Dot in and ensure that she has a place to stay as she finishes her high-school education. All is not well in the Deer household, however, and after being rejected and ridiculed by the couple's teenage daughter, Nina (Elisha Cuthbert), Dot soon becomes something of a human confessional to the troubled souls that surround her.

Jamie Babbit's film is rich with sexual confusion and sick psychology, making The Quiet surprisingly complex. Though Elisha Cuthbert's performance is strong, it is still a slowly paced film, and the sets, like dark, moody blue rooms in the Deer house, add unneeded melodrama. Still, The Quiet is a thriller about teen girls bonded to commit a heinous crime, and many will appreciate this variation on the tale of young female chivalry against monstrosity.