The Loudest Sound
The idea of telling a story of a fractured relationship in a fractured timeline structure feels like it’s a relatively new occurrence, but I’m fairly certain it’s been around for quite a while. It makes sense that filmmakers would gravitate towards that structure to tell such stories, because it helps bring the emotions involved with such a story home. Whether they stick depends entirely on the story being told, though, and how well the filmmaker tells it. With Jason Miller’s “The Loudest Sound,” it feels like a mixed bag, to be honest.
We begin at a key point in the relationship of Michael (Michael Reardon) and Alice (Johanna Gorton), when Alice has just returned to Michael after going missing for a few days. She has lied to Michael, and said she was at her aunt’s house, but her father has come by to get her into rehab in Tampa, where she will be for three months. Michael and Alice have been together for three years, and it’s been a rough ride for them, and after Michael finding something from Alice saying that she is pregnant, the next three months will feel more complicated.
I think part of the problem I have with “The Loudest Sound” is that I’m just not really sympathetic to either Michael or Alice. Because of her addictions that have landed her in rehab, Alice feels more at fault for the issues Michael and Alice are going through, but Michael honestly rubs me the wrong way. He seems quick to anger and frustration, without really being sympathetic towards Alice if she’s trying to make an effort. That being said, it is easy to see where that frustration is coming from, because Alice is kind of a train wreck. But when Michael meets Nancy (Hillary Coughlin), who is his upstairs neighbor in the apartment building, after Alice is in rehab, he begins to have some feelings he’s been missing from his relationship with Alice for a while. The counterpoint between the two relationships make for intriguing drama, especially considering the knowledge about Alice that Michael is keeping to himself, but while it’s easy to empathize with Michael, sympathy is a bit allusive, in the long run.
While I may not love Miller’s film overall, I think there are some pretty great things he has going on as a filmmaker. His moving between black-and-white and color cinematography is an interesting artistic touch. He is a good writer of dialogue and story, even if I don’t quite think the performances are that great. And he knows what he wants to say, and writes it in an intelligent, interesting way. Unfortunately, I just had a hard time getting on board with this film emotionally. I wish that I could say that I did.
the loudest sound trailer from " the loudest sound " on Vimeo.
