The Weight of Water (2000): review- 5.5/10

An island in New Hampshire: for a magazine commission, a photographer visits the site of a murder in the 1900s together with her lover, his brother and new girlfriend.

In the course of her visit, the murder case is examined using flashbacks.

The films falls on its own seriousness, becoming self-important despite the good acting. I suspect the director wished to make a serious film, but did not, in truth, really know what she wished to say. The film is completely without humour- an essential ingredient in all truly serious art, ironically enough.

Contrast with the same director's "Hurt Locker", which is defintely serious, and yet which contains flashes of dark humour. For it is in humour, far more than tragedy that artists shows their ability to relate to their audiences.

The Hurt Locker (2008): review- 8.5/10

The story of three members of a bomb disposal team in Iraq and the tensions arising from their work and their relations.

The film conveys intelligently certain masculine, soldierly attitudes; stoicism, valour, cheerfulness, camraderie, efficiency and aggression: the acting is univerally excellent.

The description of the situation in Iraq is also supurb, full of tension- showing the sense of ambiguity, of uncertainty and strain and the difficulty in defining the enemy.

The film is only let down by the scenes set in the USA, where the lead character's personality bent is given a pat "explanation".