Today’s quick review: Louder Than Bombs. Years after the car crash that killed acclaimed war photographer Isabelle Reed (Isabelle Huppert), her husband Gene (Gabriel Byrne) and sons Jonah (Jesse Eisenberg) and Conrad (Devin Druid) are still struggling to cope with her loss. The publication of a news article on her life drudges up old memories and, with them, the possibility that the crash may not have been an accident.
Louder Than Bombs is a drama about loss and grief. The movie dissects how the Reed family reacts to Isabelle’s death. Gene wrestles with the fact of her depression and the marital struggles they were going through at the time of her death. Jonah ignores his wife (Megan Ketch) and newborn child to visit his family and preserve his mother’s legacy. And Conrad, a high school loner, dreams of his mother and grows increasingly distant from his father.
Louder Than Bombs is a contemplative movie that examines its characters from multiple angles. Dream sequences, flashbacks, snippets of narration, and a variety of other devices help the movie convey the mental states of the characters in the present and the detachment that came to consume Isabelle’s life. The highlight of the movie is the characters themselves, who are flawed in ways that are messy but ultimately very believable.
The downside of Louder Than Bombs is that its melancholy subject matter and artistic flourishes will not resonate with everyone. The movie isn’t always subtle with its themes, and devices like the characters’ narration and Conrad’s dreams arguably detract from the elegance of the character work. The story is also character-driven and open-ended, with very few concrete events that drive the plot. The end result is a drama that’s hit-or-miss.
Give Louder Than Bombs a shot if you appreciate dramas that deal with realistic issues and human failures. Louder Than Bombs does not succeed at every goal it aims for. Its artistry is commendable but imperfect, and its lack of story structure is a double-edged sword. But for the right viewer, it will be a unique and insightful movie. Casual viewers should approach with caution.
For a darker, fantasy-laden movie about depression and detachment, try Donnie Darko. For a war drama about the scars of dealing with war, try The Hurt Locker. For a somewhat less successful take on the grieving process, try Aftermath.
[6.6 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2217859/). I give it a 6.5 to 7.0 for a family of effective character portraits with a hit-or-miss storytelling style.