The War at Home (1996)

60% of critics liked it
(15 reviews)
64% of users liked it
(1,499 ratings)

Jeremy Collier (Emilio Estevez) is the army veteran who returns home after his harrowing experiences in battle. His father Bob (Martin Sheen) is the emotionally detached parent who insists Jeremy put his unpleasant memories behind him and get on with his life. His mother (Kathy Bates) is the… More Jeremy Collier (Emilio Estevez) is the army veteran who returns home after his harrowing experiences in battle. His father Bob (Martin Sheen) is the emotionally detached parent who insists Jeremy put his unpleasant memories behind him and get on with his life. His mother (Kathy Bates) is the unusually cheerful woman who pretends nothing is wrong. The troubled Jeremy finds almost as much fighting at home as he did in the military in this powerful drama of a young veteran's adjustment to civilian life. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 59 min.
Directed By: Emilio Estevez
Written By: James Duff
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Nov 22, 1996 Wide
On DVD: Sep 3, 2002

Critic Reviews

Stephen Holden, New York Times
The film is so beautifully acted that you barely notice the staginess of some of the speeches.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
A confident, straight-ahead no-nonsense movie that delivers its message relentlessly with maximum impact.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
Full of little acting moments that feel like ACK-ting moments.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Bates is excellent, and Sheen's performance marks a high point in the actor's wayward career.
, Time Out
It's never anything more than middlebrow, obvious and quite laboured -- and, for good and ill, very earnest.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
In one dramatic moment, an upset Bates yells at and slaps Estevez, and suddenly Sheen brings up the subject of stolen peanut brittle.
Clint Morris, Moviehole
Excellent performances from the Sheen clan
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
Shows the explosions generated by the Vietnam War after soldiers left the battlefields.
Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle
It's undoubtedly one of the most riveting portrayals of Vietnam's impact on the American family since Michael Cimino's The Deer Hunter.