GFF 2010: Bomber

 

In this didactic, minimalist drama a family drives to Germany so the patriarch may confront his demons. Paul Cotter's first full-length feature, Bomber betrays the writer-director's roots working in a shorter format, spreading a charming concept too thinly. While well composed, its language seems televisual: like the over-extended pilot for a quirky sitcom with the irony turned down. The script affords a simplistic perspective on its characters' emotional lives: the father, Alastair (Benjamin Whitrow), reduced to stubborn misanthropy; the mother, Valerie (Eileen Nicholas), to dumbfounded naïveté; and their son Ross (Shane Taylor) to raging tantrums. Slightly confused structurally and lacking vital exposition, Ross’s woes never quite make sense; his histrionics detract from the otherwise persuasive depiction of an ageing couple labouring under the weight of regret. This would all seem quite unconvincing if not for the crafted performances of its actors. Between them they carry the film, along with a jaunty indie score by Stephen Coates which makes this a charmingly unpretentious piece of work.