Some small lowkey movies rarely make a ripple. But I just screened a tight, realistically shot Belgian film by a first-time director, Leonardo van Dijl, that, if not greatly ambitious, looks strikingly disciplined and impressive. “Julie Keeps Quiet” centers on a talented teenage tennis player, superbly performed by Tessa Van den Broeck, who is building a future career by concentrating all her energy on her game. The discipline is not only physical but also emotional; Julie maintains a tight lid, despite much questioning, on the churning anxiety that permeates her existence. However, we discover that her self-control is more a defense against emotional collapse than the nature of her personality.
Julie is generally liked by the other tennis players, but she is somewhat of an outsider, given that she is a scholarship player subsidized by the tuition fees of the wealthy kids who are at the tennis academy. More significantly, there are traumatic events that occur like the suicide of a 16-year-old girl, Aline, coached by the same man, Jeremy, who coaches Julie. We never fully learn exactly how Jeremy behaved towards Julie, for her lips remain sealed, but we know his coercive behavior is clearly more than open to suspicion. (He does keep in touch with her and meets with her in one scene, where you can see how controlling he is.) One can also place blame on the tennis academy, which treats the development of top-rate talent as taking precedence over the protection of the teenage tennis players. However, the film’s emphasis is not on the tennis academy’s ambitious goals or Julie’s parents and fellow players, who are barely developed characters.
It is Julie working out in the gym, doing physical therapy for an injury and practicing her serves, that is central here. The film doesn’t conclude with Julie breaking down and revealing all. It thoroughly understands the confusion of a teenager, who is conflicted and unable to take a clear stand and is frightened that her tennis career will be undermined. It is a keenly observed first film that moves one to look forward to the director’s future work. The film will play on Netflix and Amazon Prime.
