Soft & Quiet (2022) Movie Theme & Ending Explained: Hollywood history provides innumerable examples of racial caricatures in which African Americans and people of Asian descent (person of color) become recurrent targets of racial stereotypes. In recent years, the representation of these racial minorities has transformed with depictions of authentic lived experiences and racial prejudice and injustice. These films that challenge the stereotypical representation of minorities increased due to Black Lives Matter and anti-Asian racist actions and attempts to equip the viewers with a broader viewpoint of the history of racism, police brutality, civic unrest, and racist violence.
Apart from documentaries that examine the systemic and societal racism in America, mainstream films like Jordan Peele’s Get Out (2019), The Hate U Give (2018), and If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) confront the predominant racial violence and discrimination against African American population. The films that address the American perception of other racial minorities are scarce and thin on the ground.
First-time writer-director Beth de Araujo, in her debut Soft & Quiet (2022), tackles the ugly and criminal underbelly of modern American race relations. This immersive and vicious social horror is an unbearably uncomfortable and stomach-churning watch, and it follows an afternoon in the life of a white supremacist schoolteacher and her conscripted recruits. They terrorize two mixed-raced Asian sisters, turning their horrifying hate speech earlier into actual violence.
Shot in a single extended take with a handheld camera, the film plays out in real-time and pushes you down the rabbit hole of sadistic horrors inflicted by women on women. This minimalistic and low-budget endeavor painfully devolves into a whirlwind of violence. It follows in the footsteps of home invasion torture films along the lines of Michael Haneke’s Funny Games (2008). The indie thriller attempts to showcase the blatant racism, white supremacism, and resistance to multiculturalism prevalent in North America.
This article discusses the plot in detail by closely examining prominent themes, motifs, and issues employed in the film. Proceed with caution as there are MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!! Refrain from reading the article and save it for later if you haven’t watched the movie. Happy reading!
Soft & Quiet Synopsis & Summary
Who Is Emily Reif?
Soft & Quiet commences with the story’s central character, a tall, blond woman Emily Reif (Stefanie Estes), an elementary school teacher in a small town, crying and having a panic attack over yet another negative home pregnancy test inside a restroom stall. When she walks out of the lavatory, she glares at the school’s Hispanic janitor in displeasure, who just passed by her classroom without any provocation. Emily proceeds to leave the kindergarten after work but finds a student, Brian, alone, whose mother is running late. She seems kind and caring when she sits with the kid and lets him read the children’s book manuscript she recently finished.
When the janitor works in the background, Emily’s attitude changes, and she is easily annoyed. She asks Brian to go and tell the school’s janitor to do her work after he has left the building and not while he’s there. We realize something isn’t quite right with the seemingly-normal Emily when she urges the kid to be “assertive” and to stand up for himself. It lets us know that she is teaching a kid to be assertive against people who don’t look like them. When Brian’s mother finally arrives and compliments Emily that she will make a great mother, it feels a crushing blow for her. When she arrives at her next destination, we get a deeper understanding of her secret agendas and discriminatory ways.
What Did Emily Carve In Her Cherry Pie?
She leaves the school clutching a homemade cherry pie wrapped in foil. On the way to her next stop, she receives a call from her brother Jeff, who is now an inmate at the County Correctional Facility imprisoned for raping a woman. She disconnects the call and proceeds to take a long walk to the woods to reach a nearby church. She meets Leslie on the way to the meeting, who works for Emily’s friend Kim. The pair enter the church, go past the pews and move up the rectory stairs to reach an assemblage of white ladies dressed in Old Navy.
Apparently, Emily has organized a get-together for like-minded women that a group of all-White women is attending. She hugs and greets, exchanges pleasantries, and puts her freshly baked pie on the table amidst the beverages and snacks brought by the other attendees who are already crunching on cupcakes and chit-chatting.
When Emily removes the foil on top, we see that she has made a delicious-looking cherry pie with a swastika carved into the top crust. When someone asks, “Is this a joke?” Emily and others laugh it off by saying, “Can no one take a joke anymore?” It is at this moment that we realize that this is an initiation of sorts of Neo-Nazi Karens who are backlashing against multiculturalism with the goal of racial purification in North America.
What Is Emily Aiming To Achieve?
The inaugural meeting of this American far-right, neo-Nazi, white supremacist, misogynist, Islamophobic, and antisemitic group of women show their aggression and prejudice towards other races and ethnicities. An egoistic and self-centered Emily starts lecturing on the “multicultural warfare” that is threatening their very existence and the need for this racist hate group/club to support each other from being “brainwashed to feel ashamed” of their heritage. She firmly believes that other ethnicities befitted from what they built in the Western world and highlights the need to gain back white supremacism and purity culture.
Emily tearfully divulges her desire to become a mother and how she and her husband, Craig (Jon Beavers), has been trying to become parents for a long time. But she also believes that this group is a higher purpose she can fulfill before completely domesticating herself. Alarm bells start ringing in our heads when we see the camera casually pan past the name of the club scrawled on a whiteboard. “Daughters for Aryan Unity.” And apparently, Emily is the leader of this gathering who is asking others to engage in a “free exchange of ideas.”
Who Are The Attendees Of The Neo-nazi Group?
Next, Marjorie (Eleanore Pienta) introduces herself and thinks loudly that she might be in the wrong place. She swears, “I don’t hate anybody.” However, when Emily pokes and prods, assuring it to be a safe space, Marjorie lets loose that she was passed up for a promotion just because she’s white. She gripes about her “brown” co-worker who got a promotion over her and protests about the preferential treatment they receive under “diversity” and “inclusion.”
Marjorie discloses that she is struggling and living paycheque to paycheque, but she is ignored while the minorities receive sympathy and special consideration in the workplace. Emily reflects that “Mexicans and Blacks can get away with saying anything,” but if they offer a critique, the others scream, “racist.”
Following Marjorie, Alice (Rebekah Wiggins), a young mother, introduces the group stating her intention to recruit new people to make the club grow and propagate their ideas into the larger community. She finds the need to replace the slogan Black Lives Matter with All Lives Matter, which would seem to others a disingenuous retort without even realizing the problems raised by the BLM proponents. She also offers a piece of advice to the group to scold the spic and the African parents in front of their kids so that the child will see the parent as the root cause of their embarrassment and distance themselves from them.
Subsequently, Jessica (Shannon Mahoney), a pregnant white woman of four children with bleached blonde hair wearing a leopard print cardigan, says that she was born into the KKK and she has been a member her whole life, but more active on the Neo-Nazi website “Stormfront.” She is aware of the public opinion about the racist hate site and asks the club, “The media loves to portray us as big scary monsters. But am I really that scary?” with a wide smile on her face. The Southern matron assures that she is not here to “lynch them all” but to make “common sense” that “multiculturalism is not working.”
Kim (Dana Millican), a mother of two, who runs a local shop with her husband Dylan, steps up to introduce herself next and is not shy to express her antisemitic feelings. She complains about how difficult it is to get a loan from a Jew bank and how they are struggling to stay afloat. A typical Karen figure, she objects to how the country is taken away from them in plain sight and annoyingly gripes about the whining and disrespect from the colored kids who comes into the store. She believes that an ethnic state with ethnic purity is the most successful state, putting forth her toxic perception of immigrants and minorities. She suggests starting a newsletter or a magazine that will help in indoctrinating their ideas of softcore white supremacy.
Finally, Leslie (Olivia Luccardi), a twenty-something ex-con and new in town, introduces herself to the club of overt racists, sexists, and xenophobes. She was invited by Kim, who gave her a job when she needed stability. She is grateful to Kim for taking her in and finds it essential to help her cause. She loves Kim’s children and is hopeful of having a family someday.
With the introductions made, we understand that these women are mothers, educators, and local store owners who are talking non-stop about their prejudices against marginalized minorities and their beliefs in white supremacism. Leslie and Marjorie are two younger women amidst this domesticated crew, with dyed hair and piercings. Leslie is eager to sell her vintage clothes to support their “cause,” while Emily offers to connect the single members Leslie and Marjorie with bachelors suited for a long-time relationship to bring uniformity to the gang.
What Does Soft And Quiet Mean To Emily?
The manipulative aspect of Emily is evident when the casual attendees who came without conviction become complicit in her agendas. Emily also mocks the liberals and the feminist movement (“feminine, not Feminist”) by saying that it is an attempt to make women masculine. She also moans about the decay of the traditional family and the gender roles assigned. Emily soaks up the praise and compliments paid to her by the members who call her “beauty with brains.”
When she casually brags about finishing the manuscript of her children’s book, Leslie, trying to get into her good books, suggests starting her own school. Emily also talks about how they should convey their ideas in the magazine’s first issue. They must be “soft on the outside” so that their “vigorous” ideas can be seen as mainstream. And that they are “secret weapons no one checks at the door” because these ladies next door “tread quietly.” The group also suggests making a list of “illegals” in the area so that they can check on them and eliminate them.
Why Did The Meeting End Suddenly?
Emily and her group are kicked out of the church they are holding their meeting in. The horrified pastor of the church, overhearing the ideas and agendas of the meeting, asks Emily to clear out. Without alerting the members, she plays it off at the time and asks the group to join her for wine back at her place, leaving the mess for the church to deal with. While getting out, Leslie and Marjorie acquaint themselves and converse with each other about dating. Before leaving, Jessica gives a Nazi salute to the group, which Emily replicates with a laugh after looking at her surroundings. Emily makes a call to her husband, Craig, to ask him to pick her up at Kim’s store. She is stopping by to get the wine for the ladies. In the car, Leslie asks Emily whether she would model for her clothes to be sold, raising her pride and self-conceit even more. Except for Alice and Jessica, others file into the vehicle of Kim and reach the store.
Who Are Anne and Lily?
While getting supplies, Emily and her three friends encounter two mixed-race Asian sisters, Anne (Melissa Paulo) and Lily (Cissy Ly), entering the store. When Kim denies them service, the duo tries to convince them that they will be quick about it and even offers to buy the most expensive wine. An impetuous Leslie tries to mock and degrade the women, to which they also retaliate verbally. When Emily notices Anne, we see her false sense of composure about to burst into rage. We learn that Anne’s complaint of rape led to the arrest and imprisonment of Emily’s brother Jeff. The self-righteous notion of superiority fuels Emily to confront Anne and forces her into buying a $300 bottle of wine. red for minority communities.
When she was about to exit the store, Marjorie openly slung slurs, aggressively called her derogatory names, and made fun of her appearance and Asian descent. Kim takes a gun to terrorize them, and the sisters fight back and somehow escape from the deranged group. When Anne’s sister Lily mentions her brother’s rape plain to her face, Emily calls them a liar and breaks down crying. This explains Emily’s passion for forming a group to propagate the hate she harbors against minority communities.
By that time, Emily’s husband, Craig, comes to the store and consoles her. But Emily and the trio decide to go to Anne’s home and play some pranks to taunt them further. When Craig opposes the idea of committing a felony, Emily calls him stupid and manipulates him to be a big man and to protect her from disrespect. She asks Craig with a trembling voice, “Do you want me to look at you like an f—, babe?” using an anti-gay slur to bully him into accompanying her to the sister’s home. Craig asks them to leave their phones at the store so that the police can’t trace them.
Soft & Quiet Ending, Explained: What Happens At Anne’s House?
When they reach the neighborhood the Anne and lily are residing, Marjorie observes that she lives in a duplex on the hill. Marjorie sees Anne’s home and comments resentfully that it is bigger than her own apartment. Craig thinks that they are just going to trash the place, but we feel the ominous events that are about to roll out. Upon entering the house, the group grabs beers and food from the fridge. Emily befriends Anne’s dog and puts it inside a cupboard. Marjorie feels that Anne is more privileged than her with her piano, washer, dryer, and extensive living space. They find the passport of Anne they were looking for, aiming to burn it. When they hear a car pulling into the driveway, they all hide inside. Anne soon realized that someone had broken into the house as she couldn’t find her dog in the living room.
When she tries to run away, Craig gets ahold of her and ties her to a chair while the women shower abuse on her and threaten her. When Craig tries to run away, stating that he can’t risk his job, he runs into Anne’s sister Lily and forcefully takes her inside her as well. Craig asks the women to leave, but they are not convinced whether it is the right course of action. Craig leaves knowing what is about to transpire, much to the dismay of Emily, but Leslie consoles Emily and convinces her that she is stronger than her husband. Leslie tries to dominate and takes control of the actions while Marjorie, who was drinking over not getting the job promotion, becomes more violent and abusive. Kim was scared of the consequences as a mother of two, but the group unites and convinced each other to stick together.
Are Lily And Anne Dead?
Leslie proposes to scare Lily and Anne and leave after getting rid of the fingerprints. Emily and Marjorie agree with the plan and even manage to convince Kim to join them. While extorting and threatening the two, they forcefully feed Lily peanuts which causes an allergic reaction. The group panics as Lily chokes and dies. As the events devolve into tragedy, the power dynamic shifts, and Leslie emerges as the one willing to execute their repugnant mission to its final consequences. Emily follows the ideas of the ex-con so that she will not appear weak. Kim continues to blame Lily for her own death, saying that she would have survived had she shown more respect. Thus the white women gang rationalizes Lily’s death without even thinking about the torture they inflicted on her. An unstoppable Leslie suggests murdering Anne as well and makes up her mind to rape her as no one will suspect them if they are raped. Leslie uses a carrot from the fridge to violate Anne, and Emily manipulates a psychotic Leslie to smother Anne with a pillow. They put the bodies in a bag and roughly cleaned the mess in the house. They decide to dispose of the bodies in the lake and plan to return to the house to deep clean everything so they will leave no fingerprints for the police to trace.
They load the bodies in Kim’s car while Emily comforts Marjorie with a panic attack. While driving to the lake, the camera stays steady on the bodies and detects some movement. On reaching the lake, the women get the bodies out of the car and move them toward the lake. Leslie and Emily get on the boat and sail to the middle of the lake before drowning the bodies. When they sail back to the shore after unloading the bodies, we see bubbles in the water. Soon, Anne emerges from the water alive, struggling for breath. Soft & Quiet ends on an optimistic note suggesting that Anne will survive and seek justice for her sister’s death. And she will fight tooth and nail to lock away the Neo-Nazi Karens for the heinous hate crimes they committed driven by racial prejudice and hatred. It is also an affirmation that minority communities will emerge stronger than ever to fight mistreatment, abuse, and oppression.
Soft & Quiet Themes Explained:
The Blatant Attack on Racism and White Supremacy
Soft & Quiet offers a brutally honest and disturbingly alarming depiction of the cold inhumanity and the cruel selfishness of female white supremacists whose toxic bigotry erupted into vicious hate crimes. This blatant attack on the rampant racism and belief of white supremacism in North America shows how Neo-Nazi Karens commit straight-up hate crimes on a POC family without glancing at the dangerous consequences. The film shows Emily as the leader of the newly-founded club “Daughters of Aryan Unity” with a singular aim to peddle racial prejudice, segregation, xenophobia, and the dangers of multiculturalism. She is trying to infiltrate society by teaching children falsehoods at school and recruiting new members into the neo-Nazi tea party. They make plans to create a publication to spew their racist views and even perform the Nazi salute while laughing mischievously. The weaponization of white female victimhood allows them to take back control over minorities and to perform overt acts of intimidation and violence.
A Critique of Alt-right Tradlife and Tradwife
The film condemns the alt-right tradlife that upholds the traditional values and life of the past. It also criticizes the subculture of tradwife that indulges in the glorification of traditional femininity and culture of domesticity. The Tradwife movement is often framed as a backlash against feminism and a return to traditional gender roles. The trade wives are heterosexual women who embrace conventional gender roles of “submitting” to their husbands, not having a full-time job, and staying at home to be a homemaker and raise children. In Soft & Quiet, the neo-Nazi racists are trade wives who conform to the traditional roles of wives and mothers. The group expresses their fear of becoming a minority in their own country, and to prevent that from happening, they expand families and bear as many children as possible. When Emily fails to get pregnant, she fails to conform to the tradlife and feels disappointed. She believes that white women are responsible for perpetuating the traditional family system as well as patriarchal conventions. She demands masculinity in toxic form from her husband, who will not shy away from satisfying the conservative mindset. Also, Emily chooses to be a kindergarten teacher as it would serve the purpose of grooming the children from a young age and will further the success of their insidious views.
Subversion of Male Racists and Supremacists
The representation of women as initiators of racial hatred and prejudice is few and far between. Most popular films focus on male racists and supremacists as they tend to be more visible to the public and constantly present at hate rallies. However, Soft & Quiet subverts and adopts a gender reversal and studies women’s insidiousness and role in everyday racism and bigotry. We see them as soft and gentle on the outside but as capable of performing torture and violence when threatened. The protagonist Emily emerges as a truly terrifying evil figure who recruits her army of soldiers to indoctrinate her white supremacist ideas as well as in leveraging the sexism and homophobia of the movement. With recognizable camaraderie, they execute whatever it takes to oppress and violate people who aren’t white as they consider their existence beneath theirs. As the pillars of society, these women are caricatures of Evil, capable of influencing children, the media, and the community at large, thus perpetuating their venomous beliefs, creating more division and segregation under the aegis of racial purity.
Related: Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues [2022] Documentary Explained
