Making Noise Quietly

Better known as a theatre director, Dominic Dromgoole makes his feature-film debut here with an anthology of three separate stories set in different eras, all of which examine the effect of war on those at home. The first, Being Friends, features two men excluded from the Second World War for different reasons; Lost is all about a mother hearing of her son's death in the Falklands; and the concluding tale's focus is a Holocaust survivor who helps a troubled child. It's based on the play of the same name, but there are elements of the story that don't quite translate to cinema. Long pauses and an over-reliance on dialogue contribute to a sluggish pace. Meanwhile, the balance of the stories is noticeably uneven, given almost half the film is devoted to the third story, thus making the other two come across like shorts rather than part of the journey. That said, strong performances pack an emotional punch, illustrating the complicated emotions that come with those on the fringes of conflict without a shot being fired. However, while the delivery is flawed, the message is loud and clear.