MovieChat Forums > The Quiet (2021) Discussion > Question on Nina's confession

Question on Nina's confession


SPOILERS!!!!



I've seen this quite a few times already, but one question keeps standing out for me: why did Nina tell Dot about the incest in the cafeteria scene? She sure seemed antogonistic and almost mad at Dot while doing so. Nina pretty much knew Dot could hear at that point, but I don't believe she knew Dot knew about the incest already and that's something pretty heavy duty to let out. Did Nina just want to get it off her chest to someone? Was she trying to get Dot to talk her out of killing her Dad?

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I didn't quite understand this either. It was almost as if it was a case of bad editing - that is, as if the cafeteria scene should have taken place BEFORE the piano scene when Nina becomes aware that Dot might actually be able to hear and speak. It would make sense that Nina, by talking to Dot without fear that Dot could hear her (and thus judge her), did this as some form of therapy. She was getting it off her chest. But her motives become unclear because of the order of the scenes - if she suspected Dot could hear, why make this bold confession?

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The only other thing I could think of is that she was trying to shock Dot into saying something or verifying what she thought was true about Dot being able to hear? She was really pissed when Dot took that eyelash off her face without acknowledging anything. This may tie in with why she went through with that bag and gun thing, which is another related question. She seemd pretty smug when she made that remark about the the only person doing homework after Dot was visibly aware of the bag.

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The only other thing I could think of is that she was trying to shock Dot into saying something or verifying what she thought was true about Dot being able to hear?


This. At that point, her suspicions of Dot being able to hear had pretty much been confirmed after the piano scene, so I think she was simply trying to goad her into admitting that she could hear. She was pushing her buttons to see if Dot would protest her plan to kill her father.

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This question is four years old so i know it might already be answered but I don't think it was a case of bad editing, i think it was purosely put right after the piano scene. Nina even says "I feel like i can tell you this because you can't hear. or can you?..." I think she was looking for a reaction. ANY reaction so that she could basically get people to realize that she was def. Or, Nina was looking for a reaction out of dot for herself (after what happened to her with her father she's probably pretty sadistic). And even if the incest sex abuse weren't going on, if i were in Nina's shoes, I'd be pretty pissed that, ever since she was 7 years old this girl was PRETENDING she couldn't hear anyone or speak. Like why would you do that? ANd you have to understand, Nina and Dot are both only 17, and even though both are dealing with adult issues, they're still kids and they still think like kids.

Also, I think the confession took place after knowing that she could hear because she wanted to tell someone. But she knew she couldn't tell anyone; her mom's a pill popper, she'd be an outcast like dot at school if people found out so how could she tell? She definitely confessed because she KNEW dot could hear because I would never confess that to someone who couldn't hear-- it would be like confessiong to a blank slate-- pointless. Confessing to dot is like her out. She knows dot has to keep pretending not to hear so dot wouldn't really be able to do anything about it-- dot has something to lose too.


I was also thinking-- because at the end of the movie when dot's jig is up, so to speak... Dot JUST killed Nina's dad and they went to the dance. Dot finally says something and after she says "we have to stick to the plan". Do you think, after the confession that maybe they both planned how this would happen? because Nina said she figures a gun would be too gross, but a piano string.... may be the trick.

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The movie is not too great overall, but this scene is so memorable.

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She wanted to know if Dot could really be cruel enough to let an act like that continue right under her nose and act like she was oblivious. She was trying to see if she could trust her, or if she could push Dot into saying something.

That girl was all about pushing buttons. She was hurting.

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Oh I see. Thank you. That is a very good explanation.

Did you enjoy the movie ejiggy? I actually thought it was very good. This movie is very polarizing, it seems. People either totally loved it or totally hated it.

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I thought she was just trying to gross Dot out b/c she knew she could hear (pretty much) since she found out she could talk.

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I'm with ejiggy, but I also think it was Nina's way of letting Dot know that she knew Dot wasn't deaf and mute.

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no no no.... she was reaching...she wanted help b/c she couldnt help herself... she was also conflicted b/c it was her father so there was confusion due to fatherly love and him having sex with her. she loved him but detested him.

from the beginning u could tell there was something wrong with Nina...and the whole family...her mother wasnt helping....and she was basically surviving the situation rather than blowing it up. her finding out that dot could hear was an opening for her to reach for help. her anger she portrayed during that confession in the cafeteria wasnt geared toward dot, but was her actually venting and finally expressing what was happening to her.

and ejiggy was right..it was also an issue of trust....

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Another editing issue......

Nina spending so much time in Dot's ear during school lunch would have at a minimum provoked some curious stares and reactions from other students. Where were those shots.

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Yes, but Dot didn't suspect that Nina knew she wasn't deaf until that point. She only suspected that there was something incestuous going on between Nina and her father.

Nina was reaching for Dot's help, testing Dot's trust, and letting Dot know she knew Dot wasn't deaf all at the same time. In the cafeteria, when Nina sat next to Dot, the first thing she says is "Life sucks, Dot. I feel like I can tell you this. I feel like I can be honest because you can't hear, or can you?" Then she confesses about the relationship between her and her father. So yeah, Nina was letting Dot know she knew Dot wasn't deaf.

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She was in pain and she was acting out. I completely understand what she did. She knew that Dot was a safe person to unload on. She needed to get that stuff off her chest. And she did it in an antagonistic way because she was really angry about what a horrible place she was in emotionally.

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yes. I liked the movie a lot. It's very intense and I think that turns a lot of people off, but the movie made me sick to my stomach which I got the feeling was what the filmmaker wanted you feel. I'm glad I watched it though. I can see why it didn't get big in theaters though. People hate watching movies that make them uncomfortable.

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I think she was letting Dot know that she [Nina] knew Dot wasn't really deaf. It was also about manipulation, like ejiggy said, it was all about "pushing buttons." She knew Dot had a secret, or as Nina herself says, "...it's nice to meet someone whose life sucks more than mine" or words to those effect. She wanted to see if Dot would tell Nina's mother about what was going on, even if it would mean Dot having to confess her secret - that she was faking being a deaf mute - in the process. I am kind of also inclined to say, she wanted to have power over Dot, but also freedom from her secret. She had power over Dot by letting Dot knew that she [Nina] knew Dot's secret, and yet she was also, in some way, free from her own secret, to someone who she knew would never speak out, not because they literally could not, but because they would not, for fear of losing their own secret and (I'm not sure if Nina knew this) their own "special relationship" with their own father.

"Innocence Has A Power Evil Cannot Imagine"
Pan's Labryinth

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Omg yeah thats what i thought!
I thought that Nina was so out of control with her life, that she finally found one person she could control!
I think she also felt like she wanted someone else to feel and understand her pain without worrying about trust, and since Dot couldn't openly say Nina's secret without revealing her own, Nina felt she was the perfect person.
Its sad really tho..

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Also remember that it isn't just Nina who wants help. Remeber the scene where the dad comes to dot bed and talks to her. He also wanted help. He couldn't control him self. We can only imagine what he has been through I don't now how you viewed him but don't necessarily see him as pure evil.

Everyone in this movie are victims and liars. Some also lies to them self.

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I personally think that since Nina knew Dot could hear, she could let out her secret and Dot couldn't judge or tell anyone. Despite how angry she (Nina) was with her father, she still loved him (evident as she was trying to burn him with the iron). I don't think Nina would have killed her father, but tempted Dot with that 'confession' to get her to let her secrets out too.

I think Nina is a controlling, vindictive character, so because her world was rocked by her father and her having sex, she wanted to change Dot's life, to make herself feel better. But Nina is a victim of her enviorment; no girl would be 'normal' if they were having sex regularly with their father (or at all).

She just needed someone to know what was happening to her, and Dot was the perfect person. Like Nina said, telling Dot was like telling someone but it was still a secret. No one would have known.

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She seemed antagonistic and mad because first of all, she was upset that Dot wasn't actually mute. Nina said some pretty cruel things about Dot in front of her, because she assumed she couldn't hear anyway. Nina and her Dad probably didn't make much of an effort in further covering up what they were doing, since they figured Dot couldn't hear anything at night anyway, since she couldn't hear. Finding out that Dot actually wasn't mute, really was something to get worked up about, in my opinion. No wonder Nina was upset. At that point she understood that everything she'd said and done in or around Dot's presence, was not a secret anymore.
I also got the impression from that cafeteria scene, that Nina knew that Dot probably heard noises coming from the bedroom at night. And since Dot would get up sometimes in the middle of the night and go to the bathroom, her not being mute now meant that she probably heard them whispering and talking to each other in Nina's bedroom. I'm sure Nina felt this. She delivered that speech as if to say to Dot, "I KNOW you know what's going on, because I know you're not actually mute", and she was trying to get to her. To me, it felt like she was trying to deliver a speech that was so astonishing and disturbing [hence the emphasis on 'I love it when he fcks me' and other phrases], to see how much of it Dot could digest before she caved and reacted [ie: spoke]. In my view, that was the purpose of the antagonism in Nina's delivery of those words.
Also, don't forget, that was the first moment she revealed to Dot that she was planning on killing her father. Something else quite disturbing to add into the speech, but necessary. Nina knew that if Dot knew of her plans to kill her father, that Dot would never let a murder happen because then she'd have to live with the guilt of knowing the murder was going to happen, but not having done anything to prevent it. Therefore telling her about her murder plans was a surefire way of getting Dot to speak, or do something that would finally prove that she isn't actually mute. Which is in fact what happened. Dot would always come home around the time Nina said she was going to kill him. Obviously because if Dot heard something going on, she could prevent the killing. And why do you think Nina would always give her a specific time? Why would she say she was specifically going to kill him at midnight? That was quite strange. But again, she said that because she knew that Dot would always make sure to be home at that time which proves Nina's theory true, that Dot isn't actually mute. But I digress.
It is not at all surprising that Nina's cafeteria speech was said in an antagonistic and upset manner. She was also purposely trying to upset Dot, coaxing her to act, and reveal that she wasn't actually mute. And I do believe that she knew at that point that Dot knew about the incest. Her language, anger and emphasis on some of the words made that quite clear. If Nina thought that Dot was actually mute, there would be no point in delivering such a speech, and getting right in her face like she did.

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The actual meaning was of course just to shock Dot and see some reaction that proves that she hears. That's the way to go. She already knew Dot knows about the issue. The father and daughter thought the girl cannot hear so they did their stuff accordingly. It's not like the girls' rooms were far apart.

... ah this was only 7 years old stuff... well...

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Speaking from experience, being a child who is sexually abused, the carrying of that secret is a huge weight to bear. I think that Nina felt very trapped by her situation. We know this by her statements to Dot that she wants to kill her father and the story of the faked pregnancy in order to get money to run away from her home (and thus the abuse). So, in Dot, she finally has someone in which she feels safe in expressing her feelings on being abused, knowing that Dot is unlikely to reveal this to anyone, since she is not speaking and pretending to be mute, but clearly can hear what Nina is telling her. I think that Nina has mixed feelings when she states that she wants to kill her father. As someone already mentioned, the only kind of love she has any memory of from him is an unnatural kind, a sexual one, so she desires his love and approval, but hates what she has to do to get it. There probably WERE likely times when she really did wish him dead, and other times when she didn't. Her rational mind likely wanted him out of her life, one way or another, as she wanted to have a normal, teenage life, to be able to spend time with friends and be able to date boys her own age. At this point, she doesn't believe he will ever let her have such a life. So, I do think she wanted to unload this, and I think she was also hoping to get some kind of reaction from Dot, she looked perfectly disgusted that she got a whole lot of nothing.

Another point of interest - Did she keep telling Dot about plans to kill her father so that Dot would stop her? Or was it to compel Dot to speak? I tend to think that she really did wish her dad dead, or at least, an end to the abuse. She was willing to run away and live the horrible life of a stripper, (which to me implied it might lead to prostitution), the way she said she would want to get paid for what she was doing, some people make lots of money, etc, sounded like she was resigned to a pretty rotten life.

To each their own...opinion

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obviously, once she realzined she could hear and talk (from catching her playing the piano) Nina then realized that Dot could hear them doing sexual things in her room> as she was only next door in her own room.

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I always saw it as a way to have Dot jump/react because Nina knew for sure that she could hear.

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