Louder Than Bombs is a very earnest film that ultimately succeeds because its heart is in the right place. All the actors are very convincing in their portrayal as a close family that is devastated when the mother Isabelle (Isabelle Huppert) dies. Previously, she had suffered emotional conflict from being a very successful war photographer and having to combine that with motherhood and home life. As her damaged younger son Conrad, actor Devin Druid utterly steals the movie from his more experienced co-stars including Gabriel Byrne as his Dad and Jesse Eisenberg as his much older brother, Jonah. Druid conveys a keen intelligence but also depression, isolation, and trying to work out his problems on his own. A really demanding role and he succeeds beautifully. Gabriel Byrne has a fairly easy role as a very caring father who doesn't know how to handle Conrad's behaviour. Eisenberg's role is not as defined as Druid's -- Jonah's wife has just had a baby, Jonah has an affair, he tries to catalogue his mother's photographs but to me it didn't amount to much. Contrary to the film's title, there isn't a lot in the movie about Isabelle's work in war torn countries. I guess the movie is more about grief - about how the three men aren't coping at first, and how they eventually learn to cope. Special mention to a a smaller but lovely role from Ruby Jerins, playing Conrad's love interest Melanie. Jerins had a strong part as the nurse's troubled daughter in the TV series Nurse Jackie, and here she plays the quintessential flawed teenager very well.
Review of Louder Than Bombs
