A lonely Irish girl’s quiet quest for love

The Quiet Girl (PG)

At the Myrna Loy

Cait is not so much abused as neglected. She’s part of a large family sharing a rural home near Waterford around 1981.

Her mom is pregnant again, and there’s no room at the inn for one more.

Late at night, Cait’s parents talk about sending Cait to live with a distant cousin.

“How long should they keep her?” asks the mother.

“They can keep her as long as they like,” says her cold, loveless dad.

Sweet Cait is driven to live with Sean and Eibhlín. Her dad gets out of the car, not opening the door for his daughter.

But Sean’s wife Eibhlin comes over to embrace her.

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“Stand out so I can have a proper look at you,” she says, kneeling with arms extended warmly.

She brushes Cait’s hair from her eyes, cups her face gently in her hands, and invites her into her life.

“Come on in child.”

And so 9-year-old Cait experiences unconditional love for the first time.

For Eibhlin, giving love to Cait comes easily. For her husband Sean, expressing love is harder.

We eventually learn Sean and Eibhlin lost a son in a