It's hard to review a movie like "Soft & Quiet" (and what a misnomer that title is). It's well made, well acted, involving, has some effective moments... but it is not in the least enjoyable. It's not a pleasant experience to sit through it. If we're rating it for its effectiveness at what it sets out to do, it gets high marks. If we're rating the experience of watching it for most people, who want to be entertained at the movies, we feel like we have to warn them. Most people will hate it and feel like they wasted their time sitting through it.

I know that there is an audience for challenging material like this. I know because I'm part of said audience. For people like us, I give the movie a seven for being well-made, moderately involving, and effective, even though the most effective moment is horrible to watch.

I don't score it higher than seven because I don't think I'll be thinking about the movie for much longer. It feels more like an effectively nasty little shocker than a strong statement about the world, despite allegedly being inspired by media coverage of race-related crime.