The set-up story is murky but here it is: Architect Paul (Martin Donovan) and his pill-popping unhappy interior designer wife Olivia (Edie Falco) take in Dot (Camilla Belle), their long-lost god-daughter. They haven't had much contact with Dot or her father, who died suddenly. Dot, whose mother died when she was young, went deaf suddenly – just like her father. Dot's on-going bond with her father is creepy. She walks around with his ashes.

Paul and Olivia have a privileged life, a new house, and their daughter Nina (Elisha Cuthbert) is the most beautiful girl in high school. But they are pre-catatonic and deaf-mute Dot – she doesn't even write notes – has to be pulled out of hiding in bathrooms. Her voice-over states her constant teenage angst.

Since Nina is the most popular girl in school her best friend, Michelle (Katy Mixon), is sexually-aggressive, slightly heavier, and deeply infatuated with Nina. It's a nod to teenage lesbian love in the Paris Hilton exhibitionist vein. Michelle also covets basketball star Conner (Shawn Ashmore), who takes an interest in gravely introverted Dot. Since Dot cannot hear or talk, Connor decides to confide in her. Dot is the only girl in school who doesn't want to have sex with him. To Connor, that's "hot."

Since this is a thriller, there will be no spoilers ahead. "The Quiet" works on many sly levels. Everyone has a secret. Dot has a secret she shared with her father; Nina also has a secret with her father – they are having a rather open, incestuous relationship. Is Olivia in the know and keeping the secret? I'll say "yes." And what about Dot's disability? What kind of relationship did Paul and Olivia have with Dot's parents? Did Nina ever meet Dot when they were children? Why is Nina so jealous of frumpy Dot? Does she think her father might like Dot more than her?

I liked how the screenwriters, Abdi Nazemian and Micah Schraft, craft the complicated Nina and Michelle. Of course, Dot has the tough task of being completely unexpressive. All the cruel teen dialogue sounds authentic. And if the ending is improbable, at least it was unexpected. And I like that Nina and Dot fall in love and live happily ever after.

Cuthbert has the most work to do here and she is expressively directed by Babbit who has a strong director's hand. Cuthbert has made a leap forward from "The Girl Next Door."

We at zboneman.com are excited to welcome the prolific and multi-talented writer Victoria Alexander to our staff. Critic for http://www.filmsinreview.com/ and pundit and humorist responsible for the candid and fearlessly funny "The Devil's Hammer," her column appears every Monday on http://fromthebalcony.com. Start off your week with a good hard laugh. It's a thrill to have her on board. Victoria Alexander answers every email and can be contacted directly at masauu@aol.com.)