Louder Than Bombs

Name: Louder Than Bombs
Genre: Drama
Released: April 8, 2016
Duration: 109 min
Rating: 70
Cast: Devin Druid, Gabriel Byrne, Isabelle Huppert, Jesse Eisenberg

2016

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 32 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 39 Ratings

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6.9

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6.9	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 39 Ratings

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Louder Than Bombs

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Movie Details & Credits

Orchard, The | Release Date: April 8, 2016 | R

Starring: Devin Druid, Gabriel Byrne, Isabelle Huppert, Jesse Eisenberg

Summary: An upcoming exhibition celebrating photographer Isabelle Reed(Isabelle Huppert) three years after her untimely death brings her eldest son Jonah (Jesse Eisenberg) back to the family house - forcing him to spend more time with his father Gene (Gabriel Byrne) and withdrawn younger brother Conrad (Devin Druid) than he has in years. With theAn upcoming exhibition celebrating photographer Isabelle Reed(Isabelle Huppert) three years after her untimely death brings her eldest son Jonah (Jesse Eisenberg) back to the family house - forcing him to spend more time with his father Gene (Gabriel Byrne) and withdrawn younger brother Conrad (Devin Druid) than he has in years. With the three of them under the same roof, Gene tries desperately to connect with his two sons, but they struggle to reconcile their feelings about the woman they remember so differently.… Expand

Director: Joachim Trier

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 109 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Oliver Jones

Apr 8, 2016

Told with a quiet cinematic bravura that somehow never calls attention to itself, this is a movie that captures, with singular intimacy and humanity, just how difficult it can be to communicate with the people you love the most. Read full review

Michael O'Sullivan

Apr 21, 2016

Along with his regular co-writer Eskil Vogt, Trier has crafted a profoundly beautiful and strange meditation on secrets, lies, dreams, memories and misunderstanding. Read full review

Stephanie Zacharek

Apr 10, 2016

Movies are often about so much more than what they’re about, and the riches of Louder Than Bombs—which borrows its name from a compilation album by The Smiths—lie in the way Trier reveals the secret fears and longings of nearly every character, showing, ultimately, that even when people fail to connect, that itself can be a kind of connection. Read full review

Anthony Lane

Apr 11, 2016

But Byrne, who has lacked good movie roles of late, is marvellously grave. Read full review

Gregory Ellwood

May 22, 2015

Trier is far too talented for there not to be some good things here, but it just doesn’t add up to much. Read full review

John Bleasdale

May 20, 2015

As the family resolves problems of the film's own making, the satisfaction gleaned is relatively minor. The threatened and/or promised explosions fizzle out frustratingly, leaving behind the lurking impression of Louder Than Bombs as a well-crafted, well-played, slickly-written misfire. Read full review

The Guardian Peter Bradshaw

May 20, 2015

A rather silly, pointless and directionless film. Read full review

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User Reviews

DawdlingPoet

Mar 27, 2022

This is a film about vulnerability, fragility, grief and loss. It puts a strong emphasis on visuals, with photography being a key theme and its also very much an arty film, in that it features symbolism and the like. Its a little abstract perhaps. I thought Gabriel Byrne and Devin Druid gaveThis is a film about vulnerability, fragility, grief and loss. It puts a strong emphasis on visuals, with photography being a key theme and its also very much an arty film, in that it features symbolism and the like. Its a little abstract perhaps. I thought Gabriel Byrne and Devin Druid gave particularly good performances as the estranged father and son, though Jesse Eisenberg isn't bad either, infact I often think he's well suited to play socially awkward types (that's not meant as a diss at all). Its sad to see his dad struggle to connect with his sons. It would be hard to watch this film and not feel some compassion for the family featured. I suppose its quite contemporary in that it depicts one son's escapism into virtual reality via video games, as he tries to distance himself from his situation and loss. Its a film that features softly spoken dialogue, so if you struggle to hear well, then this may be an issue for you, so I thought I'd mention that. This is a rather thoughtful though also subtle film, one I'm not sure I fully understood all the intricacies of but I certainly enjoyed it nevertheless and so its a film I'd recommend, yes.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

netflic

Apr 22, 2016

It is a serious psychological drama about relationship, love, unfaithfulness, and many other things.
A talented war photographer dies in a crash, and family members try to cope with their loss.
Movie goes back and force in time, reality mixed up with dreams, allowing us to see same eventsIt is a serious psychological drama about relationship, love, unfaithfulness, and many other things.
A talented war photographer dies in a crash, and family members try to cope with their loss.
Movie goes back and force in time, reality mixed up with dreams, allowing us to see same events from different perspectives.
Great casting and performance of leading actors. The ending is a bit too optimistic and it contrasts with the body of the movie. The less cheerful end would be more suitable, in my opinion.
Overall, the movie is masterfully made with a lot of attention to nuances and half-tones.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

bobmeier

May 18, 2016

I live in a town where we don't get a lot of "art house" cinema (St Pete FL). It's all cineplexes showing the same ten movies. One theater downtown does occasionally (although less and less more recently) let a smaller more adult film slip thru in their "gallery" wing. Recently, because ofI live in a town where we don't get a lot of "art house" cinema (St Pete FL). It's all cineplexes showing the same ten movies. One theater downtown does occasionally (although less and less more recently) let a smaller more adult film slip thru in their "gallery" wing. Recently, because of this "gallery" I saw Son of Saul, Everybody wants some, Miles Ahead and Louder than bombs. People who have art house theaters in their towns..like NYC. LA. Chicago, some college towns..are probably a little jaded. But where I live, Louder than bombs...and films of that level..are a rare treat. If I could see things like Francofonia, High Rise, Sunset Song effortlessly like people in NYC etc then probably Louder than bombs woudn't be such a big deal. THAT BEING SAID, where I live and the small amount of good cinema that slips in, I loved Louder than bombs. I'd take that anyday over the cineplex slop. So thanks to people like Joachim Trier who managed to make something good and yet "commercial" enough to hit St. Pete.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

smiyamot

Sep 6, 2016

An interesting story of how a father, his college age son, and his teenage son all react, and cope, with their mother's auto accident death. More of a talky movie about relationships, peeling them back a layer at a time, so you need to be in the mood for this type of story.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

LeZee

Sep 1, 2016

A family in the grief, at a different level.

A multi-nationally produced film, especially you can call it a European product, but an English language film that takes place in the New York. The story of a husband and two sons of the famed war photographer who recently died in a car crash.A family in the grief, at a different level.

A multi-nationally produced film, especially you can call it a European product, but an English language film that takes place in the New York. The story of a husband and two sons of the famed war photographer who recently died in a car crash. So the film is focused to tell how they are going to cope with their loss, especially the little brother who has differences with his father. They all kind of drifted away from each other, but without an alternate they have to come together to go through it.

This is not a usual mourning theme, but sometimes I felt they forgot they're in mourning. Because the narration quickly shifts to various topics like the birth of a child, a new affair and trying to impress the girl whom the boy has a crush. So with all this, I completely witnessed a different type of film than what it had said. That's not bad, just a refreshing and with constant moving back and forth in in time to disclose some key events.

Mainly the portrayal splits into three to cover those three family members and each has its own specialty. Something like a film for older people, middle-aged and teens, all the these contents smartly joined together. Apart from the good show from the cast, the director did his best as usual, but this is not up to the par with his other works. For a watch this film definitely would do good. Since it's not a Hollywood, you won't have to worry about American film clichés, because it was developed much better and ends better.

6/10… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

GreatMartin

May 6, 2016

A couple of times older brother Jonah (Jesse Eisenberg) tells younger brother Conrad (Devin Druid) watching the latter’s DVD games “Boring but interesting” “Louder Than Bombs” is boring and, occasionally, interesting more due to the actors than the screenplay by Eskil Vogt and Joachim TrierA couple of times older brother Jonah (Jesse Eisenberg) tells younger brother Conrad (Devin Druid) watching the latter’s DVD games “Boring but interesting” “Louder Than Bombs” is boring and, occasionally, interesting more due to the actors than the screenplay by Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier and the experimentation by the director Joachim Trier.

Last week writing about “Viva” I said that I am a sucker for movies about father and sons well here we have a father with two sons and I didn’t get involved with the story but the actors! Gabriel Byrne, currently receiving raves for his performance as husband/father on Broadway in “Long’s Day Journey into Night” has one of the most interesting faces on the motion picture screen today. He is the father, Gene, of Conrad and Jonah, widower of Isabelle (Isabelle Huppert), and, as the film opens, a new grandfather, courtesy of Jonah.

There is a 10-15 minute scene between Devin Druid and, with a typical teenage crush on Melanie (Ruby Jerins) who he is walking home from a party that is delightful, funny but so more important showcases a male teenager in all his awkwardness, fumbling and misunderstanding a teenage girl! We also meet their teacher Amy Ryan who is involved with Gene and Jonah’s wife Amy (Megan Ketch) along with one of Jonah’s high school girlfriend Erin (Rachel Brosnahan) and Isabelle’s longtime colleague Richard played by a very impressive good looking David Strathairn who really is unnecessary to the drama.

All in all there are two reasons for seeing “Louder Than Bombs”: watching Gabriel Byrne’s face, even when doing nothing, and Devin Druid’s spot on performance as a teenager but then I don’t feel that is enough to watch this boring 100 minute film.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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