Making Noise Quietly is a war film that forgoes guns and explosions to focus on those left behind
There are many dramas about the devastation of war as viewed by those on the front line. Fewer, however, look at the effect of war on those back home. Making Noise Quietly is divided into three stories from three different eras – the first concerns a meeting between a conscientious objector (Luke Thompson) and a curious artist unable to serve in World War 2 (Matthew Tennyson); the second explores the family secrets unearthed when a mother (Barbara Marten) learns of her son’s death in The Falklands; while the third tells the story of a holocaust survivor (Deborah Findlay) who forms an unusual bond with a troubled child and his father.
It will be no surprise to those who have seen the film that it’s based on the play of the same name by Robert Holman, given that the whole experience feels a little too stagey for the big screen. Director Dominic Dromgoole allows his actors to take their time with every line, and we spend a huge amount of time learning about their inner turmoils.
The best of the trilogy comes in the second part, as a mother’s grief turns to resentment in a surprising and powerful fashion. It’s a reminder of the people behind the tributes, and that life doesn’t stop back home because of global conflict. Barbara Marten gives a quietly devastating performance as the bereaved mother, counter-balanced by Geoffrey Streatfeild as the officer delivering the news and struggling to keep his composure as everything goes wrong.
Less enthralling is the third act, which is a shame given that it eats up half the running time. Ponderous in its execution, particularly when compared to the measured stories before it, it’s an angry end to the film that sticks out awkwardly. The message about the deep echo of war, however, is never lost, and while not everything in Making Noise Quietly works, it will spark a lot of conversations as the credits roll.