Movie No. 72 (2016): LOUDER THAN BOMBS

Louder Than Bombs (2016)
Director: Joachim Trier
Cast: Gabriel Byrne, Jesse Eisenberg, Isabelle Huppert, Amy Ryan

When grief, loss, and memory are at the center of the story, expect drama that can be weird or detached. Louder Than Bombs is both weird and emotionally detached. But, that's not a bad thing. That's what it is.

A father and his two sons deal with the death of the mother, a war photographer. The loss has different effects on the three men. The younger son seems to be the most affected, creating weird memories about her mother to hold on to, avoiding having friends, and drowning himself in violent video games. The older son, an academic whose wife has just given birth, has taken a break to deal with the mother's photographs that are to be exhibited as a posthumous tribute to her. The father is shown to be opening himself for a new relationship - after two years - and discovering secrets of his (now) dead wife. This turns the family home into a battlefield - where a silent war is conspicuous.

While flashback is used as effective narrative vehicle, it's the performances, calculated phase, different points of view, and cinematography that contribute greatly to the mood the movie attempts to convey. 

Rating: 3.5/4.0

Date seen: October 29, 2016