The Zone of Interest
Much like Jonathan Glazer’s previous film — and music video in feature’s clothing — Under the Skin, his The Zone of Interest may have worked better as a short.
Adapted from Martin Amis’ novel by the same name, the writer/director’s stark, cleanly composed shots of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel, The White Ribbon), his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall), and their children enjoying domestic bliss while the din of carnage from the notorious death camp rages literally over the wall in their backyard presents a chilling situation, but one that gradually loses its power.
While the plot takes it sweet time to kick in, the chilling dichotomy of this proximity and the ignorance displayed particularly by proud homemaker Hedwig is amplified by punishing sound design of the unseen atrocities being committed next door. These elements can only carry The Zone of Interest so far, however, and with minimal causality at play, the slice-of-life scenes quickly grow dull and, like Under the Skin, Glazer achieves another “ok, we get it” scenario that stretches out far beyond its breaking point.
When this monotony is interrupted by cool, mysterious B&W nighttime scenes shot with infrared thermal imaging cameras, there’s a sense that more engaging times await. Yet Glazer and composer Mica Levi manage to render these asides annoying as hell with godawful deep bass-heavy music and sound effects that make it a toss-up as to which approach is more infuriating.
It’s a lousy way to tell a Holocaust narrative, and when what should be a gut-punch emotional coda arrives, viewers have been bludgeoned too repeatedly by Glazer’s obvious messaging for the images to have their intended effect. Instead, the director’s lack of vision and self-editing zaps The Zone of Interest of its potential and shows yet again that just because a film tackles an important subject, it’s not automatically good or worthy of attention.
Grade: C-minus. Rated R. Now playing at Carolina Cinemark and the Fine Arts Theatre
(Photo: A24)
