Directed by: Leonardo Van Dijl
Distributed by: TBD
Written by Taylor Baker
76/100
“Julie Keeps Quiet” is a firm and unflinching look at a young woman thrust into a situation beyond her control. She is an incredible tennis prospect whose talent has afforded her a scholarship and resources that her family, though comfortable, couldn’t provide her themselves. As the film begins, Julie’s tennis coach is placed on administrative leave while the school and tennis club investigate the suicide of a student he’d coached. The school wants Julie to answer questions about him and participate in the investigation. She’d prefer to avoid the confrontation and keep quiet.
As the film proceeds, we witness how Julie physically processes the situation and see glimpses of what she possibly went through. It’s impossible to detect that this is Leonardo Van Dijl’s feature debut as he expertly places Tessa Van den Broeck–in her debut performance–front and center, capturing her performance of Julie through physical action with many long static shots cleverly framed to accentuate her performance and relationship to her environment.
It’s less about talking things out in “Julie Keeps Quiet” and more about watching Julie physically process her emotions and exasperation at the situation. Extended sequences beautifully express Julie’s internal discipline and determination through physical action. Late in the film, we watch her and her teammates run out of the right side of the frame–presumably running a lap around the perimeter of the court–to get back in line on the left side just in the knick of time to return a serve from their interim coach. These moments implicitly show us her struggle to control reality with the resources and talent she has at her disposal, and the crisp direction seems effortless.
The investigation into her coach’s possible crimes and misconduct occurs on the film’s periphery. In late-night moments we see Julie secretly on the phone with him and a scattering of rushed sitdowns where she calmly refuses to speak with the investigators. Julie’s processing of her experience and what a healthy relationship with an adult male coach might look like takes place directly in front of us. It’s not tied in a neat ribbon with obvious perpetrators and victims on either side. It’s messy and mostly unspoken. Allowing Tessa’s physical performance to speak a level of specificity that dialogue would fail to match. Julie’s interiority and difficulties are worn on her face, her slumped shoulders between volleys, seen in the sweat trickling down her face, and the blood soaking into the white tape on her fingers. “Julie Keeps Quiet” is one of the year’s best and promises a bright future for both Tessa Van den Broeck and Leonardo Van Dijl.
“Julie Keeps Quiet” Trailer
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