Tribeca 2023 Review: Somewhere Quiet Is a Haunting Exploration of Trauma

Trauma affects all of us. Whether we know it or not, little things from our past crop up in our present-day life and influence our choices, relationships, and much more.

In the case of Somewhere Quiet, Olivia West Lloyd’s directorial debut, Meg (Jennifer Kim), is trying to readjust to her life after a recent abduction with the help of her husband Scott (Kentucker Audley) in the form of a trip to his family’s countryside cabin by the coast in Cape Cod. To Meg, this sounds like a great idea. That is until Scott’s upper-class cousin Madeline (Marin Ireland) arrives unannounced. Madeline’s presence causes Meg’s recent traumatic memories to resurface through eerie hallucinations and nightmares.

So, the real question is: does it work? By all measures, I would say yes. Whether it is the direction by West Lloyd (who also wrote the script, by the way), the dreamlike cinematography of Conor Murphy, the tension and unease created by Sofi Marshall’s editing, Ariel Marx’s ethereal score, the unsettling sound design by Hunter Berk, the claustrophobic production design by Caity Birmingham, or the outstanding performances from Kim, Audley, and Ireland, everything works together to place us squarely in Meg’s point of view, as unsettling as that may make the viewer.

The largest part of what makes Somewhere Quiet work is West Lloyd’s direction. As was previously mentioned, the viewer is placed in Meg’s point of view, so as Meg begins to question whether what she sees is real or a manifestation of her trauma resurfacing, so does the viewer.

A great example is in an early scene where Meg asks her husband about the mysterious disappearance of a plate she remembers breaking on accident while her husband Scott is asleep. Scott denies the plate ever existed, so Meg thinks nothing of it, as it could be her misremembering the events, but the viewer also gets a sense that more is happening here.

There’s equal weight given to Scott and Meg’s relationship. With every conversation, each slight became bigger and bigger until it amounted to a cacophony of slights that I’m unsure their relationship could ever survive.

Put on top of this the performances from Kim, Audley, and Ireland, and it makes for a film that I think could end up being my highlight from Tribeca 2023. Kim feels authentic playing Meg, with some scenes being a bit too hard to watch because of how deep she goes to portray Meg’s trauma. Audley and Ireland’s performances as Scott and Madeline feel equally villainous (with some great facial reactions from Ireland) and comforting, lulling the viewer into a false sense of security while keeping them on their toes.

This sense of uncertainty but with seeds as to what could be going on helps to grip the viewer from start to finish, and I can’t wait to see what West Lloyd’s next project is.

★★★★★

Check out my interview with director & writer Olivia West Lloyd in either video or audio below.

Somewhere Quiet had its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival.

Until next time!

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